Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ’Heeramandi’ to be the next ‘Squid Game’?

According to Variety, Monika Shergill, the Vice President of content at Netflix India, believes that the SLB directed series has the potential to reach the success levels of Korean series. (Image via X)

‘Heeramandi’ is being lauded as Bollywood director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus. The Netflix series had the biggest Indian scripted series premiere to date with 3.3 million hours watched in its first week since the release.

The limited series oozes with decadence and it is dipped in the pot of Indian culture and extravagance. The series revolves around the lives of tawaifs in the red light district of Heera Mandi in Lahore. It set in pre-Independence India and the social backdrop of the revolt against Britishers enhances the theme and plot of the series.

There has been a lot of discourse surrounding the Sonakshi Sinha starrer show. A new report claims that ‘Heeramandi’ was India’s answer to the mega-hit Korean Netflix series ‘Squid Game’.

‘Squid Game’ released during the height of the pandemic in 2021 and it instantly became one of the most widely talked about and watched shows of all time. People were even dressing up as characters from ‘Squid Game’ and there was even a reality tv show made by Netflix based on the series.

According to Variety, Monika Shergill, the Vice President of content at Netflix India, believes that the SLB directed series has the potential to reach the success levels of Korean series. She highlighted that the authenticity and exoticness of the series is what is making it a standout.

Bollywood actress Richa Chadha, who played Lajjo in ‘Heeramandi’ had this to say in an interview with Times of India, “"I feel this show truly has the potential to travel outside India because in a sense, if you google Bollywood extravaganza, the first thing that pops up is the creator of the show - Sanjay Leela Bhansali. So, I think it would be a great offering from India to the world. Shows like ‘Narcos’ or ‘Squid Game’ come from Mexico and Korea. I think it’s going to be one of those that travels, and it would be a great offering from India or the Indian subcontinent to the world.”