Sanjay Leela Bhansali went on record to say that originally, he wanted to cast Mahira Khan, Fawad Khan for ‘The Constitution‘. However, that did not work out because at that time, Pakistani artists weren’t allowed to work in India. The series eventually went on to star Sonakshi Sinha, Manisha Koirala, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chaddha, Sharmin Sehgal, Fardeen Khan, Shekhar Suman among others. Mahira Khan has now broken silence on being offered ‘Heeramandi’. In a recent interview, she revealed that she still wouldn’t want to speak about it, but now that Sanjay himself has said it, she also shared an incident.
Mahira revealed this was around 15 years ago, when she wasn’t even an actor. She said in an interview with BBC Asian Network, “Now that he said it and I love Sanjay. I’ve been a big fan of his work, I’ll share an incident. Shoutout to Moin Beg who came with this concept. My friend from Mumbai was in Pakistan to find her wedding outfit which was getting made from Rizwan Beg. Moin Beg was there and they said they’re looking for a girl from Pakistan for something. So, my friend Sharmeen said, ‘have you seen Mahira?’ She is a VJ.’ So, without telling me she took me to meet them’.”
Mahira further said, “I was in this old simple white salwar kameez and he said, ‘You’re Madhubala’. And then he said, ‘Would you like it if you did an Indian film?’ I said ‘Yes I’ll do, but with Shah Rukh Khan.’ Imagine my confidence at that point in time. So, he said, ‘I want you to meet Sanjay Leela Bhansali, so come to Mumbai’.”
Mahira further recalled, “Cut to..we are in Mumbai. ‘Saawariya’ had released and he was not in town. The day I was going back, I got a call from Moin Baeg and he said, ‘Sanjay is back, let’s go and meet him.’ I met him and what a genius. What a man he is! He said, ‘Can you wipe your lipstick off?’ I said, ‘I’m not wearing any lipstick’. So, he said, ‘wipe it off’ and I did. He said, what?’ Then he told me about ‘Heeramandi’. He was excited that somehow I would be a part of it. It was in the works and it was a film that time.”
Talking about the reason why it didn’t happen, Mahira said, “Right after that, some attacks happened. There were political problems. I’ve written about that trip in my journals. One of the things I’ve written about that trip that it was such a dream.”
Mahira further revealed that she was told by everyone that she shouldn’t tell Sanjay Leela Bhansali that she was married. “That time, it was this thing that don’t tell him you’re married. That night I couldn’t sleep. I was anxious and couldn’t sleep. So, I told Moin Baeg, that I want Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s number because I want to tell him that I’m married. He said why? I said, because this is the dream. I wanted to be an actor all my life, and I can’t start it with a lie. So, he said, ‘aaah okay don’t worry. Send me a an audition.’ The audition was from Mughal-e-azam. And then, I went there for ‘Raees‘ and I also met him during the making of ‘Raees’.”