Courtesans were queens, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi first look out

Mumbai: Bollywood director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, known for his period dramas, has launched the first look of his latest project 'Heeramandi'. The short Instagram video showed Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal, and Sanjeeda Shaikh.

The teasers showed the actresses dressed in golden yellow attires. It also had the text "Sanjay Leela Bhansali invites you to the world where courtesans were queens". The web series tells the story of the courtesans of Lahore. Set in pre-independent Hindustan, the plot will explore the lesser-known facets of their lives.

Heera Mandi is a neighbourhood and market in the Walled City of Lahore and is known for the red light district. Established by Hira Singh Emperor who started a food grain market in Shahi Mohallah (royal neighbourhood), it later got its name. The market was originally the centre of concubine culture for Lahore's Mughal era elite in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Bhansali in an earlier statement said Heeramandi is a milestone in his career and he is excited but nervous about making it. "Heeramandi is an important milestone in my journey as a filmmaker. This is an epic, first-of-its-kind series based on the courtesans of Lahore. It is an ambitious, grand, and all-encompassing series; therefore I am nervous yet excited about making it. I am looking forward to my partnership with Netflix and bringing Heeramandi to audiences all over the world."

He, in an interview, said it is the toughest project he has worked on so far and it was like making eight different films. He added that there are no compromises in the filmmaking because of the size of the screen.

The Netflix India film's social media post caption read: "Another time, another era, another magical world created by Sanjay Leela Bhansali we can't wait to be a part of. Here is a glimpse into the beautiful and intriguing world of Heeramandi. Coming soon." Another poster in which the cast was seen in black costumes paired with red flowers was also released. Netflixed captioned it: "The artistry of Sanjay Leela Bhansali combined with the grace of this cast is an explosion we were not prepared for."

The poster of Heeramandi was captioned: "One glance, one gesture, and one command are all, the women of Heeramandi need to steal your hearts! Coming soon." The official Instagram handle of Netflix India wrote: "We are excited to announce that Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi is coming to Netflix. Words aren't enough to explain how excited we are that Sanjay Leela Bhansali is partnering with us for this epic Netflix Original series but these emojis come pretty close."