EXCLUSIVE: ‘Waheeda’ Sanjeeda Shaikh reveals bagging Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar without any auditions

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is all set to wow the audience with his upcoming period drama series, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. Starring Manisha Koirala as Mallikajaan, Sonakshi Sinha as Fareedan, Aditi Rao Hydari as Bibbojaan, Richa Chadha as Lajjo, Sanjeeda Shaikh as Waheeda and Sharmin Segal as Alamzeb, the series premieres on Netflix on May 1, 2024.

With just a few days until its release, the leading ladies of the show recently sat with Bollywood Bubble for an exclusive chat. During the interaction, Richa, Sanjeeda and Sharmin got candid about the SLB directorial and how they landed their respective parts.

Richa Chadha on saying yes to Heeramandi

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Netflix India (@netflix_in)

Talking about whether she said yes to Heeramandi because it was a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film or whether she read the script, Richa Chadha said, “I think script woh kafi baad mein dete hai aur woh bhi office mein bulake usne mujhse padwati thi. Par haa, mostly aap unpe bharosa karte hai toh zaroor aap… you go with blind faith ki woh aache tarah se, meri puri kabiliyat ko istemaal karenge. (He gives the script much later. He made me read it when he called me to his office. But mostly you say yes because you trust him and have faith that he will use you to your full potential.)”

Sharmin Segal on auditioning for the Sanjay Leela Bhansali series

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Netflix India (@netflix_in)

Talking about auditioning for Heeramandi, Sharmin Segal said, “Humari joh star cast hai, at least auroto ke beech mein, I think main akeli hu jisne audition ‘audition’ kiya tha. Maine kuch scene padhe the. Aur audition karte karte maine aapne aap ko convince kiya main yahi kar rahi hu. (I think I’m the only female cast member who auditioned for a role. So during that process, I read some lines/scenes of my character. While auditioning I convinced myself that I was getting this part.)” 

She added, “Richa mujhe bol rahi hai ki dusre ladkiya bhi the joh mere role ke liye compete kar rahe the, mujhe koi idea nahi hai. (Richa informed me that there were other girls also auditioning for this part. I have no idea.)” Richa added she knows of two actresses who were in the running but refrained from naming them.

Sanjeeda Shaikh on bagging Heeramandi role

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sanjeeda Shaikh (@iamsanjeeda)

Recalling how she got to know she landed a part in the SLB magnum opus, Sanjeeda Shaikh said, “Mujhe Shruti Mahajan – joh humari casting director hai, unka call aaya aur main meeting ke liye gaayi. Sir se main 10 saal pehle mili chuki thi toh mujhe laga sir ko bilkul yaad nahi hoga. Main mili toh sir ko yaad tha. Aur sir ne mujhe dhek ke bola, ‘Aap khush lag rahe ho. Iss meeting ke baare mein kissi ko kuch matt batana.’ Maine kissi ko nahi bataya and trusted in him. (Shruti Mahajan, our casting director, called me and told me to meet Sanjay sir. I had met him around 10 years ago, so I wasn’t sure if he remembered me. He did. He asked me why I was happy. He then told me to keep this meeting a secret from all. I kept quiet and trusted him.)”

Watch the full interview here: 

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Did you know Shah Rukh Khan had stopped ambulance during Dil Se shoot? Gajraj Rao reveals why