Netflix CEO felt SLB pitched Heeramandi to hear ‘NO’

Known for his grand sets and larger-than-life cinema, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, without a doubt, is a man with a vision. He has been known to bring beautiful stories on the 70MM for decades, and thus, when he decided to make his OTT debut, it came both as a sweet surprise and shock.

According to Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, it came as a shock because SLB is such a big name in the cinema world that when he showed interest in a series format for OTT, it was something ‘unheard of’

Ted Sarandos thought Sanjay Leela Bhansali pitched Heeramandi to hear a ‘No’

“Heeramandi was probably one of the most creatively interesting projects I’ve worked on in India. I was involved in the greenlighting meetings for it. He (Sanjay Leela Bhansali) came to LA to do the pitch. He came in with this very big vision.

Honestly, it almost felt like a dare—like he was saying, ‘I dare you to make this; it’s so big. He’s a legend of cinema, so the idea of him making a TV Show was unheard of. I thought he came for us to say no,” Ted shared in his recent interaction with Nikhil Kamath.

“And then, when we said yes, there were lots of delays. It was a complicated production," he continued.Announced back in 2021, Heeramandi took nearly three years to complete and finally premiered in May 2024.

Staying true to his cinematic style, Bhansali insisted on using massive real-life sets instead of digital backdrops, bringing old-school charm to modern streaming.

“Heeramandi is a true reflection of India’s love for cinema”

Once the series started to take physical form, Ted was spellbound. He recalled loving the old-world charm brought by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. “He built these enormous, practical sets that we shot on. There was something beautifully old-fashioned about every element of the production.

And he was so proud of it. I was so proud of him. To me, Heeramandi is a true reflection of India’s deep, enduring love for cinema," Ted mentioned.

‘Heeramandi’

Headlined by Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal, and Taha Shah Badussha, Heeramandi focused on the lives of courtesans in the city's red-light district. Set in Lahore before the partition, the series was high on drama and emotions.