Netflix’s Heeramandi: Full list of cast in series

Netflix's Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar premiered on May 1, 2024, with all eight episodes dropping simultaneously.

The series, which brings the role of courtesans in the pre-independence freedom struggle of India, has Sanjay Leela Bhansali as its director. This is Bhansali's first OTT project.

Announced in April 2021, filming for the series started in June 2022 ending in mid-2023. The official trailer arrived on April 9, 2024, while the soundtrack album was released on April 29, 2024.

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar boasts of a star-studded cast including veteran Indian actors like Farida Jalal, Anju Mahendru and Manisha Koirala to younger actors like Richa Chadha, Sonakshi Sinha and Aditi Rao Hydari.

With the freedom struggle as the backdrop of the story, a huge ensemble cast has been employed in the series.

The main cast of Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar

Manisha Koirala

Manisha Koirala plays Mallikajaan, the head of the courtesan mansion, Heeramandi. She runs her group of courtesans, whom she trains to perfect the art. She rules her small kingdom as per her protocol with no relaxation for anyone.

However, her empire starts crumbling as the Indian struggle for freedom takes her surroundings by storm. It enters her realm with her daughter joining the freedom struggle. Meanwhile, her niece, her arch-nemesis, challenges her position in Heeramandi.

Sonakshi Sinha

Actor Sonakshi plays two roles, both Rehana and her daughter Fareedan. Rehana was the former head of Heeramandi and the chief courtesan. She was the elder sister of Mallikajaan. Her daughter, Fareedan, also played by Sonakshi, challenges Mallikajaan's status.

Fareedan is shown as a sharp-witted and sharp-tongued woman who can see the changes in the society around her. She believes that Heeramandi belonged to her mother and thus, belongs to her. As such, she's ready to go to any toxic level of enmity to get what she thinks is rightfully hers.

Aditi Rao Hydari

Aditi Rao Hydari portrays Bibbojaan, Mallikajaan's daughter and another talented courtesan. Despite having a patron to support her, she doesn't consider her role as a courtesan her ultimate achievement.

Having witnessed the ongoing revolution outside her mansion, Bibbojaan gets involved in the freedom struggle. Her dedication towards her nation stands higher than her personal benefit and comfort.

Sanjeeda Sheikh

Sanjeeda playing Waheeda in the series (Image via Netflix)

Actor Sanjeeda Sheikh plays Waheeda, Mallikajan's younger sister. She stays in the same household and provides support to her nieces when they need it. She has a daughter who she must care for.

Actor Sanjeeda has portrayed Waheeda as a wise and sensitive woman who is loyal. Initially, she forms a non-confrontational bond with all women in the household. Later, she transforms into a supporter of the freedom movement.

Sharmin Segal

Sharmin Segal plays Alamzeb, Mallikajaan's youngest daughter. She seems to be an apprentice in the art of courtesanship. However, she dreams of leaving that world behind and leading the life of a normal woman, a wife and a mother.

Being close to one of the Nawabs, she's devastated when he dies. However, life has more in store for her, as she makes some tough decisions. This is Segal's first major role in a series.

Richa Chadha

Richa Chadha portrays Mallikajaan's foster daughter, Lajjo. Chadha, known for strong portrayal of complicated characters, continues doing so as Lajjo comes across as a volatile character.

In Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, Lajjo represents the women who have little control over their lives yet seek a lot from it. In the process, women like Lajjo make harmful decisions just as Lajjo became an alcoholic.

Important supporting cast of Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar

Farida Jalal

Veteran actor Farida Jalal plays the head matriarch of the Baloch family, Qudsia Begum. She's Tajdar Baloch's grandmother. She is open-minded enough to be ready to accept Alamzeb, a courtesan's daughter, as the bride of her grandson.

After the death of her grandson, she's a broken woman who becomes sick with grief. Alamzeb informs her about being pregnant and lifts her spirits by asking her to look forward to the great-grandson's birth.

Taha Shah Badussha

Taha Shah plays Tajdar in the series (Image via Instagram)

Actor-model Taha Shah portrays the young Tajdar Baloch. Tajdar is an advocate and belongs to the family of the Baloch Nawabs. He is romantically interested in Alamzeb, who, in return, dreams of settling down with him.

However, he has an untimely death for which the British officials are responsible. Even though, Cartwright and Henderson try to convince Tajdar's father that the freedom fighters killed Tajdar, the senior Baloch knows the truth. Tajdar's death leaves his grandmother and Alamzeb traumatized.

Fardeen Khan

Fardeen Khan portrays the middle-aged Nawab Wali Bin Zayed-Al Mohammed in Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. Khan has returned to a serious role after a long hiatus. Wali Mohammed is Bibbojaan's patron. He gets caught in the women's domestic politics inside the mansion.

A mild nobleman with no ambitions of his own, Wali handles the fiery women of the mansion with trepidation. On one hand, he's in awe of the dominating personality of Mallikajaan; on the other, he cannot accept the women, particularly Bibbojaan, taking part in the freedom struggle.

Shekhar Suman

Actor Shekhar Suman plays Nawab Zulfikar in the Netflix series. The seasoned actor-talk show host is on television after a long time in an important role. His character, Zulfikar, is a typical Nawab who wants the best of what life can offer without having to take any personal discomfort.

Zulfikar is one of the first to cut ties with the courtesans when he learns about their involvement in the Indian freedom movement. He leads others to do the same to be in allegiance with the British Crown.

Adhyayan Suman

Actor Adhyayan is Shekhar Suman's son in real life and plays the son of Shekhar's Zulfikar in the series. Adhyayan also plays a young Zulfikar in some scenes.

Nawab Zulfikar's son Zoravar Ali Khan is Lajjo's patron and the two mingle outside the mansion in elite areas of the society. However, hot-headed Zoravar is seen countering many of the regulations of Heeramandi.

Other supporting actors in Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar

Many more talented actors have contributed to the Netflix series. This includes veteran actor Anju Mahendru who plays Phoophi, Jason Shah playing Alistair Cartwright, Mark Bennington playing Samuel Henderson, Indresh Malik playing Ustaad, Ujjwal Chopra as Tajdar's father, Ashfaq Baloch, and many more.

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is currently available for streaming on Netflix.

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