Jason Shah To NDTV: "Heeramandi Set Lacked Basic Decency And Kindness"

Jason Shah is basking in the success of his latest offering Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. The actor played the role of British cop Alastair Cartwright in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's series. Recently, he spoke about his experience during the filming of the show. He revealed that the atmosphere on set was fraught with "stress". In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Jason mentioned that there was a lack of basic human kindness.

Jason Shah said, "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."

Opening up about his first meeting with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Jason 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.”

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, set against the backdrop of British India, delves into the intricate dynamics of Mallikajaan's domain as she navigates challenges triggered by the return of Fareedan (Sonakshi Sinha), her late nemesis daughter. The series also stars Manisha Koirala, Richa Chadha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Fardeen Khan, Shekhar Suman, Adhyayan Suman, and Taha Shah.

The period drama has garnered substantial viewership on Netflix, securing the second position on the platform's weekly top 10 list for non-English language shows during its premiere week.