Beating Even Queen of Tears, Unexpected Bollywood Period Drama Blows Up Netflix Top

What do we love most about TV shows? The answer is long, but pretty clear: a compelling story, complex characters with great backstories and strong arcs, good soundtracks, and let's not forget the visuals. The latter includes both effects and of course costumes and stuff.

And there’s no doubt that period dramas win the game when it comes about giving the viewers the best visuals. You wouldn't find another genre of series that will give you a better and more complicated and profound picture. Especially if the show is in any way about a particular ethnicity.

That's just one of the reasons India's latest Hindi-language Netflix drama has occupied #4 in the platform’s global top. Heeramandi is a period drama created and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

At the heart of the series is an in-depth exploration of the lives of tawaifs (or, simply put, courtesans) in the red-light district of Heera Mandi in Lahore during India's independence movement against the British Raj. The series was released on Netflix on May 1, 2024 and has been turning viewers' lives upside down since day one.

The lead roles are played by Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari and other Indian actresses, and their performances simply take your breath away.

In Sanjay Leela Bhansali's story, which is loosely based on history but not a completely accurate depiction of India in the time period, we see love and betrayal through the harsh lives of courtesans.

It seems that the reviews are quite mixed, but even the part of the audience that was skeptical at first, finally admitted that the show is beautiful, even if there can be some minor problems with the plot.

“I watched it. Without any expectations. Keeping an open mind. And I actually liked it. Yes. It was very slow at first. SLB took four episodes to set the stage actually. Introduce all the characters. So yes. The first four episodes were very monotonous. But from the 5th one, it did pick up the pace. And it actually was not that bad,” Redditor itsurna25 said.

So don’t miss your chance to discover the hidden secrets that Heeramandi has to tell you and stream it on Netflix.