Jason Shah feared being called a ‘troublemaker’ on the sets of ‘Heeramandi’
Actor Jason Shah, who plays Cartwright in ‘Heeramandi’, shared his experience of shooting for the series. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of communication during the shoot and the way his character was portrayed in the series.
Actor Jason Shah, who plays British officer Cartwright in the Netflix series Hiramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, spoke about his differences with the filmmaker over some creative decisions during the shoot. He said that the series’ creator Sanjay Leela Bhansali did not direct many of his scenes and he wished he had a greater say in the presentation of his character.
But Inside the mind, with Rushabh In the podcast, Jason revealed that he raised his concerns but feared he would be labelled a ‘troublemaker’ if he complained further. Talking about his character Cartwright, the actor said, “It all depends on the director, it’s all in his hands. I’ve played a lot of British officers, so I’ve sat on sets where history has been talked about. There were a few places where I felt I could have made better choices. If I was given the freedom to do those things (the character) could have come out even better. What didn’t happen was the depth of the character. Look at Ben Kingsley’s ‘Gandhi’, there he shows how far racism can go.”
When asked whether he shared his concerns with director Sanjay Leela BhansaliHe said, “I have said too much; if I had said anything more I would have created a problem.”
In the same podcast, he also said that Sanjay Leela Bhansali was ‘not directing that much’. “I think web (series) and films are a little different because web is very spread out; you have a lot of episodes to make. It’s not made in a short time. It took him two and a half years to make it… He wasn’t even directing that much; there were other directors with me. I felt we could have worked on it (his character) a little more. A lot of shades could have come out; I think it had potential,” Jason shared.
‘Hiramandi: The Diamond Bazaar’ was being promoted as an ‘epic saga’ A story of love, power, betrayal, struggle and ultimately freedom. The show is set against the backdrop of India’s freedom movement. Apart from Jason Shah, the cast of this series includes Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Sehgal, Shekhar Suman, Fardeen Khan, Adhyayan Suman and Taha Shah.
