Heeramandi: Shekhar Suman, who played Nawab Zulfikar in the film, has garnered praise on all fronts for his performance. The actor discussed their oral sex scene in a carriage with Mallikajaan, played by Manisha Koirala. He said he couldn’t even tell his wife about the event in a post-show interview, and he suggested she witness it for herself.
The scene has Shekhar Suman and Manisha Koirala inside a train; the former thinks the latter is giving him a sexual act. In an interview, the 61-year-old actor said that he was unable to describe the scene to his wife. “I was unable to even inform my spouse of his actions. She replied, “You did a scene and you are not telling me about it,” when I got back from the shoot. Hee nahi batane layak hai, karke dikhane layak toh bilkul bhi nahi,’ I added. “Woh tum seedha hi dekh lena” means that it is not worth explaining or even putting on a show. You must to observe that firsthand),” he remarked.
Shekhar also stated that the scene, which shows a nawab struggling with his financial status and social standing as a result of the British and the courtesans, is starting to be understood and appreciated for its emotional depth.
Shekhar continued talking about the emotional state of his character Zulfikar, admitting that he was aware Mallikajaan was taking advantage of him. He knew that in order to support the British, he would have to fall from grace. He knew that in order to satisfy his physical desire, his lust, or whatever, he had to renounce his standing as a nawab and lie around here drunk.”
Heeramandi was inspired by the red-light area of Heera Mandi in pre-partition Lahore, which is currently in Pakistan. The epic series depicts the life of Heeramandi’s courtesans and their relationships with Nawabs in the 1920s and 1940s. The Indian independence movement against British rule is the backdrop against which the story is set. The show has significant performances by Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Farida Jalal, Adhyayan Suman, Shruti Sharma, Pratibha Ranta, and Fardeen Khan in addition to Shekhar Suman and Manisha Koirala.
