Popular TV personality Shekhar Suman was a part of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus web series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.
In an interview, the actor defended the filmmaker for being a strict taskmaster who sometimes made his actors wait on sets. Read on!
Shekhar Suman talks about working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Heeramandi
In Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, Shekhar Suman essays the role of Zulfikar which is a key character of the OTT series. During an interview with Zoom, when the senior actor was asked if Sanjay Leela Bhansali made actors wait for long hours, he said that he is a maestro who seeks perfection.
Shekhar Suman further added that those who lose the notion of their character while waiting are not actors. Comparing them with soldiers, he defended SLB and said, “It’s like a soldier waiting for the enemy to attack. He wouldn’t say, ‘I’ve been waiting for 12 hours, now I want to go home’. Does it happen? No, he’s there! Whenever the enemy comes, he starts firing. It doesn’t matter if it’s snowing or if it’s hot. An actor has to have the preparedness of a soldier.”
Shekhar Suman further stated that even if the director asks his actor to sit there and keep doing it for 2-3 days, one should do it if they are an actor. “You can’t complain about losing your concentration then get the hell out of this place. You have no business being an actor. Whenever you look back, you will look back with so much glee and pride. And that’s why one has so much respect for him,” he opined.
Suman further added that all these rumors about Sanjay Leela Bhansali being very hot-tempered and losing his temper on sets are just rumors and hold no truth. “Everybody gets impatient, but that’s not losing your temper. There is time and money involved, other actors are waiting because of your lack of understanding of a scene. That becomes unfair to the director. The way he pampers his actors is no one’s business,” he concluded.
Apart from him, the Netflix series also stars Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Sharmin Segal, Taha Shah Badussha, Farida Jalal, Fardeen Khan and his son Adhyayan Suman in key roles.
