A look into the life of Indresh Malik, who played the character of 'Ustadji' in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's debut web series, 'Heeramandi', and overshadowed all the big stars with his performance.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's debut web series, Heeramandi was released on May 1, 2024, on Netflix. As expected, the web series won everyone's hearts courtesy of its plot and screenplay. From impactful dialogues written by Divya Nidhi and Vibhu Puri to Bhansali's trademark detailing in the set design, everything about the web series was larger than life.
The eight-episode web series has received a big thumbs-up from movie critics, while viewers are calling it a 'masterpiece' on social media platforms. The way Sanjay Leela Bhansali has managed to give proper exposure and screen time to all his characters is quite commendable.
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Over the years, we have seen a series of web series in which we have seen filmmakers compromising on their supporting cast in order to put more emphasis on the leads. However, this wasn't the case with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi, as all the characters succeeded in building a connection with the viewers.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali assembled a stellar star cast for his debut web series that includes the likes of Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Sharmin Segal, Richa Chadha, Farida Jalal, Fardeen Khan, Shekhar Suman, Adhyayan Suman, Anju Mahendru, Jayati Bhatia, and many more.
All the actors impressed the audiences with their remarkable acting performances. However, there's one actor, who left an indelible mark in people's minds with his stellar acting performance. The actor we are talking about is Indresh Malik, who played the character, 'Ustadji' in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi. Although it was a supporting role, but the way the story panned out, Ustadji's character turned out to be one of the most important characters of the web series.
As more and more people watched Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi on Netlfix, they started searching for Indresh Malik's social media profiles. It was a challenging task as Indresh doesn't have a lot of followers like most of his co-stars in the film, Heeramandi. For the uninitiated, Indresh has 1,458 followers on his Instagram handle. Once people found out about his official Instagram handle, they started dropping a lot of heartfelt comments in his posts related to Heeramandi.
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A user from Pakistan's Lahore lauded his performance and commented, "You are sooooo good in the series. Hats offf!!! A real fan from Lahore. kya baat hai, zabardast". Another user appreciated Indresh Malik's acting in Heeramandi and commented, "I normally don't look up actors and post on their accounts. But your performance in Heeramandi is phenomenal! You are by far the best actor who I felt truly immersed himself into his character. You deserve many of the accolades and awards. Amazing." It is indeed a special moment for Indresh to get so much love and recognition from the audience for his work in Heeramandi.
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During an interview with a YouTube channel, Indresh Malik opened up about his experience of working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali for the film, Heeramandi. The actor revealed that the director gave him a small bottle of perfume before his introduction scene in Heeramandi. Not only this, Indresh further added that when he was shooting an emotional scene with Sonakshi Sinha, he couldn't hold on to his emotions, and it was when Sanjay Leela Bhansali hugged him. Indresh revealed that the director gave him a note of Rs. 500. Recalling the same, he said:
"There is a scene in the series in which Sonakshi ji makes me wear a nose ring. She does this with great love. Sir explained to me what it is like, what it means and what I have to do. I had to cry in that scene. When I exited after that scene, I did not stop crying, it continued for 5 minutes. So everyone came to me and when I said cut, I couldn't stop crying. Then sir came to me and said what happened, shut up and then he hugged me. He gave me Rs 500 for the first time and said this is for you. It was a big thing for me. A note of Rs 500 is given by a guru to his disciple. This is a form of his blessings."
For the uninitiated, Indresh Malik is a renowned face in the Indian television space. The actor appeared in a series of renowned television shows and web series, Home Shanti, Ratri Ke Yatri, Maska, Fanney Khan, Naagin, Yam Hain Hum, Pataal Lok, Gumraah, Bajao, and many more. It is wonderful that Indresh is finally getting his much-deserved due. We hope he continues to entertain us for years to come.
Have you seen Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi yet? What are your thoughts on Indresh Malik's performance? Let us know.
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