Peepingmoon.com was the first to reveal that Fardeen Khan is making his acting comeback with Sanjay Gupta’s Visfot, co-starring Riteish Deshmukh. The film has been shot and is currently in post-production, eyeing a late 2022 release in theatres. Fardeen is enjoying being back on set after 12 years of hiatus and wants to be part of as many great stories as possible in the new phase of his career. The Hey Babyy actor is next doing Anees Bazmee’s No Entry sequel with Salman Khan and Anil Kapoor, and is also planning to start his own production company with remakes of some of his father Feroz Khan’s cult movies. And now we hear Fardeen is doing a web series as well. 

Peepingmoon.com has exclusively learned that Fardeen Khan is making his OTT debut with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ambitious series, Heeramandi. Fardeen has joined the cast of this big-budget Netflix show and will play one of the leading men alongside an illustrious cast led by Bollywood ladies, Sonakshi Sinha, Manisha Koirala, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, and Sharmin Segal. Fardeen, who has mostly been part of romantic comedies and action-thrillers, gets into the big league with this Bhansali project, which also marks his first stint with a period drama. He has apparently already filmed some portions and will now join the sets on the next schedule. 

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Billed as the most expensive web series coming out of Netflix India, Heera Mandi is Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s dream project, which explores themes of love, betrayal, succession, and politics in the bordellos of Heeramandi through three generations of courtesans. Set in the pre-Independent, undivided India, in the Heeramandi area of Lahore, which is now in Pakistan, the show is an emotionally charged saga about a gallery of gorgeous courtesans with Bhansali’s trademark larger-than-life magnificent sets, elaborate compositions, and unforgettable characters. Bhansali directs the first two episodes and all the songs of this eight-part series, with the subsequent episodes being helmed by his assistants, Mitakshara Kumar and Vibhu Puri. Written by Moin Beg and Reshu Nath who has penned the dialogues, the show promises to intrigue audiences and transport them into a world of incredible grandeur, beauty and harshness at the same time. 

Heeramandi went on floors on June 27 at Mumbai’s Film City Studio with a mujra sequence between Manisha Koirala and Aditi Rao Hydari. Two grand sets replicating the 70s are said to have been erected at Film City to shoot the majority of the series, which also stars some veteran Bollywood actors, including the legendary Mumtaz. While Huma Qureshi, Nimrat Kaur, and Sayani Gupta have also been rumoured to appear in this show, there has been no confirmation of their casting. As far as the male leads are concerned, Fardeen plays one, while the other is essayed by popular television personality Vikas Gupta’s brother, Siddharth Gupta, who has previously starred in Ekta Kapoor’s Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi and Ragini MMS Returns. Marathi actor Jaywant Wadkar, known for his work in A Wednesday, Sarfarosh, Baby, and 200: Halla Ho, plays one of the supporting roles.