Heeramandi reviews - Page 6

Originally posted by: D3viL

Decapitated KhaalaJaan, shayad aap ka mood kharab tha, aur aap me maza nahi liya. Kya aap dobara show dekhna chahte hain? Khudaaafizz

I left for a week and you forgot to type in Australian. Aise kaise. 

Originally posted by: Novarieaa

I binge watched it last night. 

Initial few episodes are good to hook you but it spirals down to disaster episode 5 onwards. The story subverts expectations and goes into another direction very soon with little coherence. I think the freedom fighting and revolution part should have been avoided. It should have been fixated on the Mahals' internal confilcts and politics. The most interesting parts were the parts invlolving Heeramandi. The revolution and anti-British resistance was not written properly and it did evoke little to none emotion or response. 

Manisha was good initially but as the story progressrd, you would realize the story warranted a much powerful actress. I feel let down by her tbh. Vidya or Tabu would have cooked and eaten the role.

Sanjeeda was phenomenal. I think her performance is one if the best in the show. 

Sonakshi was good on and off. As Faredaan she has her moments but in the last few epsiodes it deteriorated. Also, her sudden change of heart is not believable. Mallikajan's gang rape, as brutal it is, did not seem enough to trigger a sudden change of heart when she left no stone unturned to destroy everyone around Mallikajan. 

Richa was good as Lajjo Apa in her limited role. 

Aditi was fine too. She looked extremely beautiful. 

Fardeen was meh. 

While I did not like Tajdar at first, he grew on me later. He is handsome and delivers a decent performance and is quite charming. 

Alamzeb is a disaster. She does not fit into the universe of exotic beauty of Heeramandi tawaifs. Her injected lips and almost plastic face ruins many many scenes. She is stiff and boring. 

While everyone is going gaga over the grandeur and aesthetics, I am disappointed by the lack of substance. The hype Ustaadji creates when he says every brick of Heeramandi conceals a secret, falls on its face by the paperthin script. Also, the scene of him with Cartright in his bedroom is very bold and props to the actors for pulling it off. Ustadji especially is phenomenal. 

The story started on a good note and the kotha politics was very interesting, but it went downhill with that unnecessary desh bhakti and the freedom fighting angle. I mean, I wanted to watch this series for some fun, to see the lives of courtesans, along with royals and nawabs at that time and how they dealt with British etc. not to see this nonsense of unnecessary deshbhakti and freedom fighting movements. I ain’t against it, but there are dozens of patriotic films to fill that spot. Nothing looked believable by the end, all these scheming courtesans suddenly having a change of heart didn’t sound convincing enough! 

Almost every character in heeramandi has a pretending personality expect a few like Aditi Rao, Sarmin

I watched all episodes, it started strong, but the ending was like what? They all turned into freedom fighters and sonakshis character all of a sudden turned into friends with them, the revenge track was going so well and this is how they ended it? 

Manisha had the biggest and strongest role and she did it complete justice, such a powerful performance! She is so convincing as malikajaan. 

Sanjeeda sheikh did very well, she had a complex character to play and she managed to do it justice, she just needs to make her voice a bit stronger. 

Aditi rao hydari did well, she fit the role.

Sonakshi was good, it wasn't as powerful of a performance as manisha, but she did well, but for me needed more of an impact.

Now onto sharmin, slbs niece, firstly her voice kept reminding me of mahira Khan, she sounds exactly like her. She was just OK, she really doesn't know how to emote strongly and she doesn't make alot of facial expressions, I really wish she had done better as she has one of the biggest and most important roles. 

Richa chaddas role was so small, like too small, but she performed very well with whatever she had.

The guy who played tajdaar was very good, he really emoted the emotion of love effectively, plus he is very handsome! 

The guy who played the eunuch also did a good performance, he had one of the biggest roles 

Fardeem, shekar suman and his son did not have big roles so didn't create an impact 

Edited by zara321 - 1 months ago

Spoof 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6gJBYPtzs4/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Almost everyone agrees that the actress playing Alamzeb was the weakest and miscast. Alas a prime example of nepotism when SLB could casted a strong albeit unknown actress in that role. 

I just finished episode 1 (after 2 days) and hoping to finish another episode today in one sitting but even I don't get the need to incorporate the patriotic angle in this. 

Originally posted by: infinity101

. I mean, I wanted to watch this series for some fun, to see the lives of courtesans, along with royals and nawabs at that time and how they dealt with British etc. not to see this nonsense of unnecessary deshbhakti and freedom fighting movements. I ain’t against it, but there are dozens of patriotic films to fill that spot. Nothing looked believable by the end, all these scheming courtesans suddenly having a change of heart didn’t sound convincing enough! 

I'd recommend Seba Dewan's Tawaifnama about a real life family of courtesans from 1857 to the present. The courtesans were master schemers. But they were also at the mercy of men. Their fathers,brothers,lovers mercilessly took advantage of them. The book explains how the Courtesans of Varanasi cleverly tried to adapt to the changing morality,mood of the nation. They renamed themselves as gaanewali sangh and tried to donate funds to the Freedom movement. It was more about survival in the changing times rather than any change of heart or newfound morals. There's a tale in the book how the Courtesans cleverly fooled one of their vehement opponents into being their spokesperson - and that too without any seduction.

Originally posted by: infinity101

Iss series mei faltu ka patriotic angle ghusane ki kya zarurat thi? It was a good series though, at least a one time watch, too OTT but well that’s what Bhansali is known for.

I totally agree. There was no need to give too much importance to the freedom struggle in the last 2 episodes. This was just SLB's way to whitewash Mallika, Fareedan and Waheeda after showing them as mean, cunning and untrustworthy in the most part of the series. Mallika jaan was the worst as she ruined so many lives. She treated every woman as a wannabe prostitute and sold every woman for money. I was expecting her to pay the price for what she did with Saima. I thought her lover will take revenge after getting to know the truth but he just disappeared after that scene. Instead they showed that pathetic gang rape scene to glorify her as a mother after showing how desperate she was to make her daughter a prostitute. Also, that last song of Alamzeb dancing as a prostitute didn't make any sense. Why would Mallika make her pregnant daughter a prostitute after going through so much for her? That song was out of place. 

Originally posted by: Life_Is_Dutiful

I totally agree. There was no need to give too much importance to the freedom struggle in the last 2 episodes. This was just SLB's way to whitewash Mallika, Fareedan and Waheeda after showing them as mean, cunning and untrustworthy in the most part of the series. Mallika jaan was the worst as she ruined so many lives. She treated every woman as a wannabe prostitute and sold every woman for money. I was expecting her to pay the price for what she did with Saima. I thought her lover will take revenge after getting to know the truth but he just disappeared after that scene. Instead they showed that pathetic gang rape scene to glorify her as a mother after showing how desperate she was to make her daughter a prostitute. Also, that last song of Alamzeb dancing as a prostitute didn't make any sense. Why would Mallika make her pregnant daughter a prostitute after going through so much for her? That song was out of place. 

Honestly, no one watches Bhansali to see some great story telling. I know i personally watch him to view grandeur. It would be great if he can only design the sets and leave the story telling to someone else. 

So, just finished watching it over the weekend.

Positive:

Manisha, oh man, what a performance! She totally owned it.

The sets and jewelry. Bhansali really knows how to craft a whole new world.

Every performance, even the supporting cast, was on point.

The dialogues. Classic Bhansali.

Negative:

Alamzeb was a missed opportunity. Such a well-written character, but the performance fell flat. 

 Sanjeeda Sheikh as a courtesan without a proper mujra? that's a letdown. There's one but it didn't do justice to her talent.

Apart from  Tilasmi Baahien and Sakal Ban, the music didn't really grab me. Most of it felt like recycled stuff. 

The ending? Meh. Had potential for something powerful, but it just didn't hit the mark for me.

Overall, I enjoyed it, despite some minor gripes. Can't wait for Love and War now!