Latest news with #pre-Partition
News18
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Netflix CEO Thought Sanjay Leela Bhansali Pitched Heeramandi To Hear A No: 'It's So Big'
Last Updated: Netflix's Ted Sarandos reveals Sanjay Leela Bhansali's bold Heeramandi pitch felt like a 'dare' as he opens up on the show's massive vision and journey. Sanjay Leela Bhansali decided to bring his signature grandeur to a streaming platform in 2024 and it turned heads. Known for his larger-than-life filmmaking, Bhansali had never made a series before. So when he pitched Heeramandi to Netflix, it wasn't just another meeting—it felt like a bold move. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, who was personally involved in the greenlighting process, shared how Bhansali presented his vision. 'Heeramandi was probably one of the most creatively interesting projects I've worked on in India. I was involved in the greenlighting meetings for it. He (Sanjay Leela Bhansali) came to LA to do the pitch. He came in with this very big vision. Honestly, it almost felt like a dare—like he was saying, 'I dare you to make this; it's so big. He's a legend of cinema, so the idea of him making a TV Show was unheard of. I thought he came for us to say no. And then, when we said yes, there were lots of delays. It was a complicated production." Announced back in 2021, Heeramandi took nearly three years to complete and finally premiered in May 2024. Staying true to his cinematic style, Bhansali insisted on using massive real-life sets instead of digital backdrops, bringing old-school charm to modern streaming. 'He built these enormous, practical sets that we shot on. There was something beautifully old-fashioned about every element of the production. And he was so proud of it. I was so proud of him. To me, Heeramandi is a true reflection of India's deep, enduring love for cinema," Sarandos said during his chat on the WTF podcast hosted by Nikhil Kamath. About Heeramandi Set in Lahore during the pre-Partition era, Heeramandi tells a fictional story centered around the lives of courtesans in the city's red-light district. Bhansali first came up with the idea in 2007 as a feature film. He even considered casting Pakistani stars like Mahira Khan, Fawad Khan, and Imran Abbas for the project. However, those plans were dropped after a 2016 unofficial ban on Pakistani artists in India. Eventually, the cast was led by Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Sharmin Segal, and Taha Shah Badussha— each playing a part in Bhansali's grand vision for the screen.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Netflix top boss thought Sanjay Leela Bhansali pitched Heeramandi to them to be rejected: 'It almost felt like a dare'
When Heeramandi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus, was greenlit by Netflix, it was hailed as a landmark moment for Indian streaming. Bhansali has the legacy of being Indian cinema's most visually opulent showman. His films are larger-than-life and lavish. Hence, a series on the same scale was unthinkable. In a recent chat, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos revealed that he felt that the filmmaker almost wanted 'no' for an answer when he pitched the show. Speaking on Nikhil Kamath's WTF podcast, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos talked about the scale of Heeramandi and said, 'Heeramandi was probably one of the most creatively interesting projects I've worked on in India. I was involved in the greenlighting meetings for it. He (Sanjay Leela Bhansali) came to LA to do the pitch. He came in with this very big vision. Honestly, it almost felt like a dare—like he was saying, 'I dare you to make this; it's so big. He's a legend of cinema, so the idea of him making a TV Show was unheard of. I thought he came for us to say no. And then, when we said yes, there were lots of delays. It was a complicated production.' Announced in 2021, Heeramandi took almost three years to make and produce before it was released on the platform in May 2024. 'He built these enormous, practical sets that we shot on. There was something beautifully old-fashioned about every element of the production. And he was so proud of it. I was so proud of him. To me, Heeramandi is a true reflection of India's deep, enduring love for cinema,' Sarandos added. Heeramandi is a fictional tale set in the famous red light district of Lahore in pre-Partition undivided India. Bhansali had initially conceived the story as a film in 2007. It was later revived as a show in which Bhansali wanted to cast Pakistani actors Mahira Khan, Fawad Khan, and Imran Abbas. But those plans had to be shelved due to the virtual ban on Pakistani artists in India after 2016. Heermandi stars Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Sharmin Segal, and Taha Shah Badussha.
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Business Standard
27-05-2025
- General
- Business Standard
Men at home: Gyanendra Pandey on the male retreat from household work
MEN AT HOME: Imagining Liberation in Colonial and Postcolonial India Published by Orient BlackSwan xiii+222 pages ₹1,190 My grandfather often narrated a story about a friend who once deviated from his daily routine and returned home in the afternoon, rather than his usual late-night hour. His wife, startled by this disruption, shut the door in his face saying, 'He is not home.' Amusing and apocryphal, this anecdote encapsulates the stark separation of male and female domains — so rigid that a man, encountered out of context, became a stranger in his own home. The academic interest in this separation is not new. However, most inquiries have centred on women entering the public or paid workforce, leaving their domestic roles behind. In a refreshing inversion, Gyanendra Pandey's latest book turns the spotlight on men — specifically, on their private lives within the home. He probes their interactions with spouses and children, and more significantly, their (largely absent) involvement in everyday domestic tasks — cleaning, caregiving, cooking. The book examines the rationalisations that underpinned this absence. Among affluent men, the belief in a higher societal mission often justified their detachment from home life; they saw their calling as transformative and public, absolving them from mundane familial obligations. In contrast, working-class men were consumed by the struggle for economic survival, which left little space for household engagement. The material for the book comes from the memoirs and autobiographies of a wide cross-section of prominent early 20th-century men in pre-Partition India. In several cases, these male narratives are supplemented by writings from their wives, offering valuable complementary insights. The lives examined include both upper-caste and Dalit men, as well as Muslim intellectuals and activists, giving the book a broad and inclusive sweep. What elevates the book further is Mr Pandey's lucid writing, peppered with vivid glimpses into the home lives of public figures such as Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Premchand, Rahul Sankrityayan (upper caste); B R Ambedkar, Jagjivan Ram, Om Prakash Valmiki, Narendra Jadhav (Dalit); and Akbar Mirza, Akhtar Hussain Raipuri (Muslim), among others. For a book that traverses such a wide canvas, it is remarkably concise and accessible. The narratives not only personalise history but compel the reader to reflect on what has changed over the last century —and what remains surprisingly constant. One aspect that particularly caught my attention was Mr Pandey's discussion of domestic architecture. While clearly applicable to families with the means to own spacious homes, the point remains relevant, as most of Mr Pandey's subjects belonged to this class. The physical layout of such homes often facilitated the easy enforcement of separate male and female spaces that reinforced societal norms. With urbanisation and the spread of apartment living, such spatial separations have largely disappeared. Yet, despite transformations in housing, as well as parallel improvements in women's education and health outcomes, the domestic space —especially the kitchen —remains overwhelmingly female. Contemporary Time Use Surveys reveal that Indian women still spend approximately ten times more time on domestic and care work than men. This gender imbalance remains among the most severe in the world. The broader literature on the intersection of caste and gender suggests a complex trade-off: Upper-caste women often experienced material privilege alongside stricter constraints on mobility, visibility, and decision-making within the home. My examination of national-level data indicates that this trade-off has significantly weakened over time and has now completely disappeared. Mr Pandey's detailed accounts add further nuance. In many Dalit households, women worked for wages — sometimes as primary breadwinners. This economic role brought a degree of parity, visible in small but meaningful ways: Couples walking home from work together, stopping to buy vegetables, the husband assisting in cutting them. Yet, beyond this shared labour, the weight of domestic responsibilities still fell on the woman. Economic autonomy did not necessarily protect these women from patriarchal dominance. Their increased mobility often stemmed from compulsion rather than choice and did not translate into broader equality within the home. As with any study centred on a selected group, questions about representativeness naturally arise. Why these particular men? A deeper discussion of the rationale guiding their selection would have strengthened the work. More significantly, the book would have benefited from situating these Indian experiences within a broader international frame. What did the domestic roles of men in early 20th-century Europe or America look like? Available evidence —ranging from advertisements to ethnographic accounts — suggests that Western men, too, were largely absent from household labour, seeing themselves primarily as breadwinners. Yet, despite similar starting points, norms around domestic labour have evolved far more in Western societies than in South Asia. Why have South Asian norms been so resistant to change? This enduring puzzle — of particular personal relevance — lingers after reading. It is a question that invites further exploration, and one hopes readers of this engaging and important volume will take it forward in their own work.
The Hindu
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Hindostan Archive Revives Suf, Kharek & Rabari Embroidery in Contemporary Indian Fashion
It is not often that the dream to start one's own venture, when still in college, comes true. For college mates-turned-business partners Shaoni Ray and Sahil Meenia, it is quite the opposite. While studying at National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi, the duo found themselves interning in Kolkata (at Shaoni's mother's boutique, Warp and Weft) alongside kantha artisans. 'We realised the potential of blending traditional techniques with modern design. With no formal plan or resources, we launched a menswear brand on Instagram, and created a 30-piece collection during the internship,' says Shaoni, 24, brand director. Weeks of brainstorming led to the name Hindostan Archive, a tribute to the 'subcontinent's pre-Partition unity before and during British rule in India'. With Sahil's roots tracing back to Pakistan, and Shaoni's to Bangladesh, the duo wanted to reclaim that sense of unity and explore the interconnected textile legacies of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. 'I realised there was a dearth in handmade, designer wear, especially in the West. Trends are changing today with men experimenting with colours and cuts. I wanted to bank on India's craft heritage, and using my artisan contacts, I cut out the middlemen,' says Sahil, 24, the brand's creative director. When the designers visited Shaoni's ancestral village Gangarampur, West Bengal, near the Indo-Bangladesh border, they shot their first collection . 'In my family home, we found old kantha blankets handcrafted by my great-grandmother before the Partition. She had meticulously stitched together scraps of beautiful silk fabrics to create the quilts. We had been working with artisans in Shantiniketan, but discovering the blankets blew us away,' says Shaoni, adding that the blankets looked similar to Japanese boro stitching, which also promotes mending. They brought one of these heirloom blankets back to Kolkata, which was the seed for Hindostan Archive. 'Recognising the parallels between kantha and boro, we envisioned transforming this traditional craft into something modern. This led to the creation of our first silk patchwork kantha jacket. Sahil further enhanced the design by lining it with my mother's checked pure silk sari that she hand-painted,' she says of the brand's first design that was eventually acquired by a private textile collector. The designers are now out with their latest collection, Indian Summers, that draws from 'the fleeting beauty of a late summer'. Forgotten crafts and rare techniques from Gujarat such as pakko, Rabari and suf embroidery, Bhujodi weaving, and kharek, have been reimagined onto airy silk shirts, oversized denim jackets, and tailored kurtas. 'It's about honoring India's craft legacy while making it relatable today,' says Sahil, of the range in summery shades of turmeric yellow, indigo, burnt orange, and moss green. 'Standout pieces that we are proud of include a black denim jacket dyed naturally with iron rust, adorned with silver ghungroos along the seams, and a bandhani ceremonial shirt inspired by Gujarati bridal wear, layered with hues of red, white, and yellow. We also used organic kala cotton, khadi, and mashru silk, ensuring every piece is handmade with care, some taking weeks to complete.' He further says that they work with crafts rooted in India's diverse regional clusters such as Kashmir's pashmina weaving, Rajasthan's dabu, Bengal's kantha, etc. 'Each collection highlights a mix of well-known crafts (like ajrakh) and lesser-documented ones (like Rabari patchwork or kharek), ensuring we balance awareness with discovery. In Indian Summers, we paired Gujarat's Bhujodi weaves featuring motifs like popati (triangle) and chaumukh (a four-sided pattern) to create a dialogue between pastoral storytelling and contemporary design, he says, explaining how techniques are never altered, but their application is reimagined. Organic and handwoven fabrics such as kala cotton, khadi, pashmina, natural dyed denim, silk, and linen are used, alongside natural dyes derived from turmeric, myrobalan, pomegranate rind, mud, and indigo. 'All textile waste is repurposed, think upcycled linings, stuffed accessories, or patchwork totes, to minimise landfill contribution. We focus on creating timeless, durable pieces designed to outlast trends, because sustainability starts with consuming less,' says Shaoni. While Hindostan Archive is a menswear label, over time, their androgynous silhouettes of jackets, relaxed trousers, and oversized shirts found takers among women too. 'This organic shift led us to consciously label these pieces as unisex to reflect their universal appeal,' says Shaoni, adding that they will launch their first dedicated womenswear collection in A/W 2025. The duo is now exploring textiles in India's northeastern regions and collaborating with local artisans to reinterpret traditional techniques like backstrap loom weaving and natural dyeing. 'Our upcoming collections will spotlight these textiles across various categories, including knitwear, cardigans, denim, and womenswear. We're also developing a line of accessories. To us, heritage isn't just stored in museums; it stays alive when people wear it, share it, and keep its stories alive,' concludes Shaoni. Upwards of ₹5,000 on
News18
20-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
'Ali Khan Mahmudabad Could Say Sorry For Operation Sindoor Post': How Row Snowballed
Last Updated: The complainant, Haryana State Commission for Women's head Renu Bhatia, says a genuine apology from the Ashoka University professor could have eased things Is Ali Khan Mahmudabad a scholar who has been wronged, or has he 'degraded women"? The arrest of the associate professor at Ashoka University and former leader of the Samajwadi Party may have academics from institutions, including Oxford, Yale, and Jawaharlal Nehru University, urging his release, but the complainant, Haryana State Commission for Women's head Renu Bhatia, disagrees. 'His thought process is for everyone to see. His choice of words is there for the world to have a look at. Any educated person, as he claims to be, should have presented his side when we summoned him. But he chose to be absent. He even chose to evade the commission when we visited Ashoka University after informing them about the purpose of our visit," Bhatia told News18. On Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh—the two women who emerged as India's face at a press briefing during Operation Sindoor — Ali Khan Mahmudabad had written in his May 9 post on social media that he was 'very happy to see so many right-wing commentators applauding" the Indian Army officers, but 'perhaps they can equally loudly demand that victims of mob lynchings, arbitrary bulldozing… are protected as Indian citizens". At a time when India was united in battling Pakistan, the charge against the Ashoka University professor was calling the optics 'hypocrisy". 'The optics of two women soldiers presenting their findings is important, but optics must translate to reality on the ground, otherwise it's just hypocrisy," he wrote on social media, adding fuel to the fire. Terms like 'genocide", 'hypocrisy", and 'dehumanisation" attracted the wrath of the women's commission. 'I will keep talking about those from whom I can smell treachery," Bhatia said. Very subtly, Bhatia referred to Mahmudabad's paternal lineage, where his grandfather, Mohammad Amir Ahmed Khan, was the last ruling Raja of Mahmudabad and a key financier of the Muslim League in the pre-Partition era. He campaigned for Mohammad Ali Jinnah's Pakistan against Mahatma Gandhi. Just before Partition, he migrated to Iraq. He subsequently moved to Pakistan in 1957 but later settled down in London. He, however, sent his wife and son to India to reacquire his property, which by then was in state possession. While more than one FIR has been filed against Professor Mahmudabad, the one based on a complaint by Bhatia has serious sections like 152 (acts that endanger India's sovereignty, unity and integrity) along with 353 (statements conducing to public mischief) and 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman). Meanwhile, a carefully crafted official message from Ashoka University read, 'We have been made aware that Prof. Ali Khan Mahmudabad has been taken into police custody. We are in the process of ascertaining details of the case. The University will continue to cooperate with the Police and local authorities in the investigation, fully." But the university's faculty association was more liberal in its choice of words, calling the charges 'untenable" and his arrest 'calculated harassment". Mahmudabad has approached the Supreme Court for relief. A bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih agreed to hear his plea by Wednesday, after senior advocate Kapil Sibal said the professor had been 'arrested for (making) a patriotic statement". The Ashoka professor's May 14 clarification about his May 9 post wasn't helping much, attempting to 'solely express concern over the rhetorical excesses and reckless warmongering exhibited by certain sections of the civilian public". But you ask the complainant, Renu Bhatia, and she would say a genuine apology could have eased things. 'He could have accepted his mistake. He could have just apologised," she said. Now, the row is far beyond the realm of any apologies, where society is extremely polarised on this issue.
