Aditi Rao Hydari: One day, we won’t have to bring gender to make a point

Aditi Rao Hydari

For a filmmaker who painstakingly goes into every detail, from the chandeliers on the set to the costumes, one can only imagine the care with which Sanjay Leela Bhansali crafts his characters. With Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, as the auteur tells the story of Lahore's six courtesans, the one character that stands out is Aditi Rao Hydari's Bibbojaan - a complex mix of allure and defiance. The actor has the perfect way to describe her role. "Bibbojaan has the dreamy soul of Madhubala from Mughal-e-Azam [1960] and the fire of Joan of Arc," she says.

It was the character's dichotomy that floored her. "Dichotomies make the character real, and as an actor, it gives me more to play with. Sanjay sir has written a layered character for Bibbojaan. Bibbo is celebrated for her beauty, dance and music, but she sacrifices it all, knowing that her courage may get no reward. She has a higher purpose. She uses her mind, beauty and privilege to further India's freedom revolution."

The Netflix series - also starring Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh and Sharmin Segal - depicts India's fight for freedom when the courtesans are at the height of their power. With his maiden web series, Bhansali talks about not only power and desire, but also women's agency and the politics of the times. Hydari agrees, stating, "Art and how it finds a voice is always contextual. Artistes and culture cannot be viewed without a historical and an anthropological lens. My mother Vidya Rao had a grant from the Ford Foundation to research courtesans and thumri. I've heard many stories from the time in which Heeramandi is set."

This is the second time she is working with Bhansali after Padmaavat (2018). Did the familiarity help as they created arguably India's most ambitious web series? "Sanjay sir is an incredible teacher. He adores his actors, he lives and breathes his material. I love that Bibbojaan was brought to life by Sanjay sir. There were times when I'd be overwhelmed by the power of his words, the situations."

That there are six women on the poster of India's biggest show is a statement in itself. Hydari views it as a significant step towards moving to a time where gender won't matter in stories. "It feels incredible to have such diverse women headlining a show created by Sanjay sir. I hope we get to a day when we never have to bring gender to make a point, a day when we tell great stories with balanced representation."