Bhansali REFUSED to Take ‘Bigger Stars’ in Heeramandi, Takes Dig at ‘Star System’: ‘I Need Actors’ by StuffsEarth

Sanjay Leela Bhansali has revealed he was certain that he didn’t need “bigger stars” in his debut Netflix series ‘Heeramandi’. The filmmaker opened up about how he finalised the casting of the much talked-about show, which has received polarised reviews from the audience.

Speaking to IndiaToday.in, Bhansali said that his casting process is very “instinctive” and “spontaneous”. He explained, “I don’t analyse things too much. If I see Shantanu Maheshwari who’s walked into the office for ‘Gangubai’, I’m thinking, ‘Yeah, he’s on.’ He was in a dance show. When my mother was watching that dance show, I went to meet her. I was leaving for office. She said, ‘See this boy is dancing very well. You should cast him somewhere.’ I said, ‘Yeah’.”

Citing another instance, Bhansali recalled, “The same thing happened with Shreya Ghoshal years ago. My mom was watching her on a show and she was extraordinary. And I looked at her and called her after some months and said you will sing for Aishwarya in ‘Devdas’. And she wouldn’t believe it. The same happened with Taha [Shah Badussha]. He came for some role. He sat there and I said, ‘You’re Tajdar.’ In that one moment, you have to know that it has to be Sonakshi Sinha. There cannot be another Fareedan. There cannot be another Mallikajaan. A lot of people asked, ‘Don’t you think we need bigger stars? I said no, these are fantastic actors’.”

Sharing his views on the actors vs star system in the industry, Bhansali added, “I need actors. I feel stars are a system we should get rid of in our industry. We need very good actors. And if the stars are very good actors, like I have worked with wonderful stars who are wonderful actors. For me, they’re actors. The star system should be demolished.”