Fardeen Khan Says 25 Dogs Helped Sanjay Leela Bhansali Relax On Heeramandi Sets: 'To Calm Him Down'

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heermandi: The Diamond Bazaar came out on Netflix on May 1. The show stars Sonakshi Sinha, Manisha Koirala, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Fardeen Khan. In an interview with IMDB, the actors talked about what it was like making the show. Fardeen shared that Bhansali had his assistants bring him dogs to help him relax during filming.

During the chat, Fardeen recalled “Whenever he was getting flustered, or wasn’t getting what he wanted, or he was frustrated about something… To calm him down, the assistant directors would send these 25 dogs that Mr. Bhansali has, on the sets of Heeramandi and the minute they went on to set, he used to be calm.”

When the cast was asked about hidden talents, Sharmin Segal claimed to be a great chef. Richa seemed surprised, so Sharmin gave an example. “I am a really good cook! What do you mean? That salad I was eating today in the morning, I made!” Richa teased, saying she only chopped vegetables, but Sharmin clarified she made the dressing.

Several actors who have worked with Sanjay have often said that he is short-tempered. However, Shekhar Suman, during a recent interview said that he believes that it doesn’t matter since he is a perfectionist. “How does it matter (if he’s short-tempered)?” Shekhar asked Siddharth Kannan. “He has every right to be. Why does he get angry? He’s not a madman, but he is a perfectionist. You will always notice that perfectionists are short-tempered because they get impatient with everybody else for not being at their level. I know of so many people who are legends in their craft but are also short-tempered. K Asif was like this, Mehboob Khan was like this, Raj Kapoor was like this.” He continued, “It doesn’t matter what they say about Bhansali. He has every right to be angry. In fact, I would want him to be even angrier, considering what we’re getting in return. Look at what he’s creating, not only for us but for posterity.”

Meanwhile, News18 gave the series 4.5 stars. “Bhansali pens a near-perfect screenplay and it is this rich writing that already forms an impressive foundation for the show. Each character is written with a lot of courage, empathy and sensitivity. Here, each female character is so well-fleshed out, including those in the periphery, that they all deserve a spin-off of their own,” an excerpt from the review read.