‘Sanjay Leela Bhansali Wasn’t Directing Much’: Heeramandi Star’s Shocking Claim, Shares Dissatisfaction by StuffsEarth

Heeramandi actor Jason Shah has made a surprising revelation. The actor, who played the role of British officer Cartwright in the Netflix series, has claimed Sanjay Leela Bhansali did not direct many of his scenes. As a result, he felt his potential was not explored fully. He added that if he would have expressed his creative differences any further than he already did, he would have been labelled a ‘trouble maker’ on the sets of show.

“It was his first time (doing a web series). Film is a little different because web is a little stretched, you’ve got a lot of episodes to make, and it’s not made in a short time… He also wasn’t directing that much. I had other directors with me. I just felt we could’ve worked on it a little more, and a lot more colour could’ve come out. It had the capacity, I feel,” the actor said, while speaking on Inside the Mind with Rushabh podcast.

He added that there was ‘lack of communication’ on the sets of Heeramandi and added that if he had the room to explore, he would have done a lot more with his character. “What didn’t happen was the depth of the character. If you look at Gandhi, with Ben Kingsley, they really show how far racism can go, and the dichotomy between who someone thinks they are, and another human being…” he said. When asked if he brought his concerns in front of the director, Jason said with a laugh, “I think I said enough. I would’ve become a problem maker if I said more.”

In June, Jason had claimed that there was lack of ‘niceties’ on the sets of Heeramandi. He added that he felt ‘out of place’ while filming.

Released on May 1, 2024, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar stars Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal Mehta, Farida Jalal, Fardeen Khan, Shekhar Suman and Adhyayan Suman in key roles. It explores the various aspects of a woman’s trials and tribulations.