Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi to return for season 2; ‘The tawaifs will now enter the film industry’

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar will be returning for a second season. Netflix made the announcement on Monday via a video which shows a flash mob of 100 dancers at Mumbai’s Carter Road, wearing anarkalis and performing on a medley of songs from the series.

However, earlier Bhansali had wondered if a second season was even possible and stated that “web series like this can happen only once, nobody can make it again, not even me.” It seems like there has been some change in plans.

In an interview with Variety, Bhansali spoke about the toll it takes to make a series at this scale. “It takes a lot to make a series. This one has taken a lot. After Gangubai released in February 2022, from that to now every single day I have worked without a break. So, the responsibility is huge on the series.”

Confirming a second season, the acclaimed auteur also gave some plot details. “In Heeramandi 2, the women now come from Lahore to the film world. They leave Lahore after the Partition and most of them settle in the Mumbai film industry or the Kolkata film industry. So that journey in the bazaar remains the same. They still have to dance and sing, but this time for the producers and not for the nawabs. So that’s the second season we are planning, let’s see where it goes.”

Monika Shergill, Vice-President Content, Netflix India, added, “Sanjay Leela Bhansali has intricately woven magic to bring Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar to life. Watching audiences everywhere fall in love with this series — making it truly their own as a cultural phenomenon — has been hugely energizing and it thrills me to share that we will be back with season 2.”