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The Times of India
The Times of India
Entertainment
TIMESOFINDIA.COM

Pakistani actress Ushna Shah calls out Sanjay Leela Bhansali for making a web series on 'Heeramandi'

Pakistani actress Ushna Shah calls out Sanjay Leela Bhansali for web series 'Heeramandi'; says it's 'like a Pakistani director making a film about Mahabharata'.

Pakistani actress Ushna Shah is apparently not very happy with Bollywood director Sanjay Leela Bhansali making a web series on Lahore’s red-light district Heera Mandi.

Taking to her Twitter handle, Ushna said, ‘Culture collaboration is one thing but this is appropriation. Mimicking ours will make the project lose authenticity! India has a plethora of rich culture and history to film, this isn’t theirs to make!’

Check out the Tweet here:

Further replying to a Twitter user, she added, ‘Heera mandi was in Lahore, Lahore is in Pakistan. Its relevance is to the Mughal empire on which Pakistani history is predominantly set. This would be like a Pakistani director making a film about Mahabharata.’

Even though questions are being raised over the project’s authenticity, it is one of the most awaited series even in Pakistan. Pakistani actor Yasir Hussain had reportedly said that even though Heera Mandi is in Lahore, filmmakers there are not telling their own stories. And now that the film is being made by Indians, people are prepping up to criticize how they will show false narratives.

Actress Hira Tareen took to her Instagram handle and shared her views on the same. She said they don’t make such movies because if they do, a fatwa is issued and producers lose their money. According to her, the Pakistan Electronic Regulatory Authority cannot tolerate the ‘real’ stories of Heera Mandi or any such subject.

Heera Mandi will be directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s assistant Vibhu Puri who has also written dialogues for Bhansali’s film ‘Guzaarish’ starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

According to reports, it will feature actresses like Alia Bhatt, Madhuri Dixit, Deepika Padukone, Parineeti Chopra, Manisha Koirala, and Vidya Balan in key roles. However, there has been no official announcement from the makers regarding the same as yet.

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