Mahira Khan captured the Indian audience's attention with her role in Raees alongside Shah Rukh Khan. In a recent chat with BBC Asian Network, she shared her excitement about being offered Heeramandi and reminisced about her first encounter with Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

Mahira Khan recalls when she was asked to meet Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

Mahira Khan shared a fun memory about how her friend put her name forward for a project. She said, "I’ve always been a huge fan of Sanjay Leela Bhansali. This was about 15 years ago at my childhood friend's wedding to an Indian guy in Bombay. Sanjay was on the lookout for a Pakistani actress. Big shoutout to Moin Beg for coming up with the idea! He was chatting with designer Rizwan Beg about their struggle to find someone. My friend from Mumbai was in Pakistan to get her wedding outfit made by Rizwan, and while they were talking, Moin mentioned they needed a girl from Pakistan. That’s when my friend Sharmeen chimed in, 'Have you seen Mahira? She’s a VJ.' Without telling me, she took me to meet them."

"They brought me to a studio, and I was just in this plain old white salwar kameez. After about half an hour, a guy looked at me and asked, 'Are you Madhubala?' I said yes, and then he asked if I’d be interested in doing an Indian film. I replied, 'Sure, but only if it’s with Shah Rukh Khan.' Just shows my mindset back then! He then said, 'You’re coming to India, and I want you to meet Sanjay Leela Bhansali.'"

Mahira Khan's initial encounter with Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

When she got to Mumbai, she mentioned that Sanjay Leela Bhansali was out of town. However, just before she was set to leave for Pakistan, Moin Beg reached out to let her know that Bhansali wanted to meet her. She shared that she did a no-makeup photoshoot because the filmmaker requested it.

She went on to compliment Sanjay Leela Bhansali, reminiscing about their meeting, saying, "What an incredible guy! So creative and a genius. He asked me, 'Can you wipe your lipstick off?' I replied, 'I'm not wearing any lipstick.' Then he insisted, 'Just wipe it off,' and I did. He was like, 'Wow.' At that moment, he talked to me about Heeramandi. He was really excited about the possibility of me being involved, but unfortunately, it didn’t pan out. It was still in development as a film, but then some attacks happened, and due to political issues, I couldn’t take part in it."

She mentioned, "Back then, it was all about not letting him know I was married. That night, I was tossing and turning, feeling super anxious. So, I reached out to Moin Baeg and asked for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's number because I needed to tell him I was married. He was like, 'Why?' I explained that this was my dream. Acting has been my passion forever, and I didn’t want to kick things off with a lie. I called him up, shared my situation, and he was cool about it, saying, 'No worries. Just send me an audition.' The audition was a scene from Mughal-e-Azam, and after that, everything fell into place. Later, I also met him while working on 'Raees.'"

Heeramandi dropped on Netflix this year. The show is set against the backdrop of the Indian independence movement, highlighting the tension between the courtesans of Lahore's Heeramandi and the British officials. It features a talented cast including Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Fardeen Khan, Taha Shah Badussha, Shekhar Suman, and Adhyayan Suman. A second season is already in the pipeline.

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