Sonakshi Sinha recently opened up about playing a prominent role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, and said that no one took her seriously until the director cast her in the series. She played the role of a courtesan, Fareedan, in the series.

In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, she said, “I am so glad that Sanjay sir saw me in a role like that. I am truly grateful to him. Also, I have been saying for a long time that I am interested in playing a negative, villainous, or psychotic character."

She added, “Nobody took me seriously until he cast me in Fareedan’s role, so I am truly grateful to him. Because, as an actor, it’s so nice to take up a challenge like that and do something different. Till when will you play the girl-next-door, sweet girlfriend, sweet wife? So it was just so much fun for me to play a role like that.”

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar was set in pre-independent India against the backdrop of the freedom movement and told the story of the courtesans, the nawabs, and the British, and the tussle for power amongst them. It premiered on Netflix on May 1.

Sonakshi was last seen in the horror-comedy film Kakuda on ZEE5 which also starred Riteish Deshmukh and Saqib Saleem in pivotal roles. It was helmed by Munjya director Aditya Sarpotdar.