Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar

Never expected this meandering story from this genius. None of the characters impresses. It's a strain watching pure dialogue delivery. Boring and lacklustre characters that fail to engage.

It seems the makers just wanted to somehow stretch a story to 8 episodes. The sets and costumes will impress only when you have well fleshed characters . Sorry Bhansali ji you have disappointed us.

Too much effort of audience goes in adjusting to names and recollection of past events because the scenes are forgotten due to lack of potency. I wonder why more effort was not put in. Basic principles of scene construction were ignored.

The tale is a dreary and nonsensical affair.

The screenplay proves a tiresome, protracted bore.

The dialogue is insipid and trite.

Performances are utterly devoid of vitality.

The production values, however, are quite lavish.

The locales are top-notch.

The sets and their adornments are simply splendid.

The costumes are exceptionally fine.

The makeup is rather pleasing.

Cinematography is nothing short of remarkable.

The lighting is impeccable.

Alas, the direction feels hopelessly antiquated.

Its a mixed bag of splendid visuals and dreary narration not recommended for viewing.

****4****

After a long hiatus, I decided to give a new show a shot, but I was sorely disappointed. The show in question, "Heeramandi" by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, promised much but delivered little beyond its visual appeal. Known for his lavish sets and intricate costumes, Bhansali's skills in these areas were unmistakable and truly commendable. Unfortunately, that's where the positives ended for me.

Describing this show as "all style and no substance" feels almost too kind. It's a perfect example of a series that looks beautiful on the surface but lacks depth. The first episode was torturously slow, so much so that I found myself fast-forwarding through parts of it, which I rarely do if I'm trying to give a show a fair chance.

As the superficial allure of the stunning sets and costumes wore off, I tried to focus on the plot, only to find myself overwhelmed. The narrative introduced around 20 characters in what felt like a rapid-fire, haphazard fashion, moving forwards and backwards with little regard for coherence. It felt like a bad LSD trip, and even Confucius would forgive me for being utterly confused and confounded.

In essence, while Bhansali's "Heeramandi" might be a feast for the eyes, it's a famine for the mind. Despite its visual mastery, the series is shallow, lacking the compelling storytelling needed to make the aesthetic elements worthwhile.

Something which shines too much is not worthy at all same for the case of heeramandi. IT shines and sparkles with the sets , visuals, production , fabulous acting , Over the top cinematography but fails to deliver in Storyline , plot, british part , curiosity to watch more episodes and I think BGM at points. The music of the whole series is average There was no proper intro song or a proper intro, literally no pre intro scene after the 3rd episode and sometimes it feels way too much dragged and long. No proper explanation of relations and the tawaif culture. Could have been a 2 part movie.

Episode 1 to 3 - 4/5 Episode 4 to 6-1½/5 Episode 7- 4½/5 Episode 8-4/5 Good for one time experience with no expectations.

If you are a sucker for visually pleasing set pieces, then this is a treat for your eyes. The set design will definitely be the benchmark for Indian cinema for days to come. Every scene looks like a painting. The costume design is immaculately seductive, feminine and elegant making everyone look so rich in taste.

First half of the show, with a lengthy narrative introduces us to its timeline and courtesan's life beyond the singing , dancing and beds. Themes like betrayal, envy, scheming,revenge, poltical subplots are slowly disclosed which gets you hooked as it builds up immense curiosity to find out how it all pans out. As it is set in the pre independence era, it also sheds light on freedom struggle amongst different strata of the society. The writing is just so clean and detailed. Highly appreciable.

But for some reason, the show makers decide to abandon all of these, all the great characters, the story building they themselves did so spectacularly. They just give up all of this to some lazy writing towards the end and devote the concluding moments in exploring "Patriotism" out of the blue. This immediately makes you unhinged from the screenplay, story and it sets in a strong sense of detachment towards the characters.

The show had everything going right for them since the beginning. The actors did a superb job. The art department blew it out of the park. The story had immense potential. But for some reason the writers were in a hurry to finish and didn't climax smoothly XD

Could've easily been a 9/10 but sadly doesn't hold up its side of the bargain.