Fardeen Khan as Wali Mohammad in Heeramandi. (courtesy: netflixin)
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's much-anticipated foray into the world of OTT, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, has been teasing fans with glimpses of its leading ladies through songs, teasers, and first looks. Recently, the spotlight shifted to the male characters of Heeramandi, unveiling Fardeen Khan's character, Wali Mohammad, in a stunning first-look poster. With this project, Fardeen Khan is all set to make an acting comeback after a hiatus of 14 years. While opening up about his comeback at the star-studded trailer launch, Fardeen expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to collaborate with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and the stellar cast.
Fardeen Khan got emotional while talking about his comeback and said, "It's been a very long gap for me, it's been almost 14 years. I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity to work with this stellar star cast and a platform like Netflix and of course the man himself, Sanjay Leela Bhansali. I couldn't have hoped for a better opportunity as an actor to return to the screen."
Opening up about his character Wali Mohammad, Fardeen Khan said that his onscreen character is a "true romantic." He added, "For Wali Mohammad, he didn't allow the power, ambition, status and wealth to corrupt his heart. He kept his heart intact and for him, love was the focus of his life. He was a true romantic. I got a thing or two from him."
He also spoke about the complexity of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's characters, which offers actors the opportunity to imbue depth into their roles. Fardeen also shared that working on Heeramandi with Sanjay Leela Bhansali presented him with a unique and enriching experience, different from anything he had done before. He praised Sanjay Leela Bhansali's intuitive understanding of emotions and said that it resonated deeply with him.
Fardeen Khan said, "For me, this was something I have never done and it was the perfect role for me. At the age I am in, to come back to the screen, you come with a certain amount of life experience, wisdom and you know you can you can really contribute to the layers that Sanjay writes into all his characters. His characters are very intricate, very complex. There's nobody like him who writes characters. He goes across the spectrum and emotions, and he has this intuitive understanding of it. It's daunting to work with him, but at the same time, when you see it all together, it just all makes sense. I'm extremely grateful for this chance and so happy to be here. I'm getting emotional now.”
Heeramandi boasts an ensemble cast comprising Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Sharmin Segal, Taha Shah, Shekhar Suman, and Adhyayan Suman. The series is set to premiere on Netflix on May 1.