Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Directorial Debut 'Khamoshi: The Musical!' Turns 28

It was 28 years ago when filmmaker Sanjay Bhansali made his debut as a director with film ' 'Khamoshi: The Musical!'.

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Mumbai: Released on August 9, 1996, 'Khamoshi' starred actors Salman Khan and Manisha Koirala in the lead roles. The film follows a talented small-town girl, Annie (Koirala), torn between her dream of becoming a singer and taking care of her deaf and mute parents, Joseph and Flavy. There's a handsome music aficionado, Raj (Salman), who wishes to help the bella realise her dreams but her family stays reluctant to send her out into the world, which they believe wouldn't accept them.

Celebrating 28 years of the film, Bhansali Productions took to their social media to share a short video encapsulating beautiful glimpses from Khamoshi: The Musical. They further captioned it with, "Here's to the timeless tale of love and music! Celebrating 28 years of 'Khamoshi: The Musical' with moments that continue to touch our hearts #Sanjay Leela Bhansali #Khamoshi #KhamoshiTheMusical #28YearsOfKhamoshi The Musical @beingsalmankhan @m_koirala @iamnanapatekar #Helen #Raj #Annie #Joseph #Mariamma #Bollywood #HindiCinema."

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In a career spanning 28 years, besides 'Khamoshi', Bhansali delivered several remarkable projects such as 'Black', 'Padmaavat', 'Bajirao Mastani' and 'Gangubai Kathiawadi'.

This year he explored the world of OTT with his web show 'Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar'.

Spanning 1920 through 1947, when the subcontinent was partitioned into India and Pakistan, Season 1 of the lavish story is set in the Heeramandi district of Lahore, British India, the milieu of the tawaifs. As with the geisha of Japan, tawaifs were trained in music and dance and courted by nobility. At the show's center are Mallikajaan (Manisha Koirala), the scheming queen of Heeramandi, and her vindictive niece Fareedan (Sonakshi Sinha), who has ambitions to take her aunt's place.

Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Fardeen Khan, Shekhar Suman, and Taha Shah Badussha also feature in the show.

The series will be back with a second season.

On expanding the series, Bhansali in a statement by Netflix said,"It takes a lot to make a series. This one has taken a lot. After 'Gangubai' [Berlinale title 'Gangubai Kathiawadi'] released in February 2022, from that to now every single day I have worked without a break. So the responsibility is huge on the series," Bhansali told Variety."In 'Heeramandi 2,' the women now come from Lahore to the film world. They leave Lahore after the partition and most of them settle in the Mumbai film industry or Kolkata film industry. So that journey in the bazaar remains the same. They still have to dance and sing, but this time for the producers and not for the nawabs. So that's the second season we are planning, let's see where it goes," Bhansali added.