Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been in the news ever since his OTT debut series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar released last month amid positive reviews and audience response, but actor Jason Shah has now revealed that the set of the show lacked basic human kindness.
Shah, who earned accolades from movie buffs for his performance as antagonist British cop Alastair Cartwright, told NDTV that the atmosphere on set was fraught with “stress”.
“I found it to be lacking just simple niceties of human nature. I wasn’t introduced to many people over there, which I found very odd and a little confusing. Then I started to think that since I play the villain, they want me to be angry and disconnected from everybody. But for me, being connected to a human being on set never boils over into my character. I definitely felt a little bit out of place, but I guess you just keep on going with the flow of things,” he told the Indian news channel.
Speaking on his first meeting with director Bhansali, he said: “I was sitting inside one of the rooms in his office. I had the script in my hand, and that’s when he came in and started nonchalantly looking through a cupboard. He then looked over and said a very silent, ‘Hi’. It wasn’t an introduction of sorts. I realised later that he had come to see me to check if the guy that he chose would be able to carry it off.”
Shah is a British actor and fitness model.
He has participated in the 10th season of the reality show Bigg Boss as a wildcard entrant, and played Captain Hugh Ross in Jhansi Ki Rani on Colors TV.
He also played the role of Sir John Greenwood in Barrister Babu.
Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar
Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar was released on Netflix in 2024 amid positive reviews.
The series is about the lives of tawaifs in the red-light district of Heera Mandi in Lahore during the Indian independence movement against the British Raj.
It stars Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Sharmin Segal Mehta and Taha Shah Badussha.
