Sanjay Leela Bhansali shelves ‘Heera Mandi’?

Spicezee Bureau

Mumbai, Dec 23: India’s much admired filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s grand dream project ‘Heera Mandi’, has been shelved and will not be seen hitting the 70 mm anytime soon, as the reports had suggested earlier.‘Heera Mandi’ that was rumoured to have an ensemble cast comprising of Madhuri Dixit, Rani Mukerji and Sonam Kapoor (based on ‘Heera Mandi’, a renowned red light area in the Walled City of Lahore that had spawned the courtesan culture) has hit a roadblock and apparently might not take off at all. In an interview given to a news daily, the director clarified that he wasn’t working on ‘Heera Mandi’. “There are no chances of starting ‘Heera Mandi’ soon. In fact, it might take two to three years to start the project if I want to start it at all. The script of the film is not ready yet,” Sanjay said. Bhansali has also refuted the rumours that suggested him approaching Pakistani actor Imran Abbas for the same, saying, “These are all rumours. He (Imran) is definitely not in the film. This news is completely false. I would rather cast an Indian actor for the role.” According to reports, Bhansali is currently busy with the pre-production of yet another big-budget flick starring Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan and has put all the ‘Heera Mandi’ plans on the backburner for now.