Sonakshi Sinha reads Urdu newspaper in SLB's Heeramadi set in pre-independence era; netizens spot major goof-up

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's much-awaited series 'Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar' premiered on the streaming platform Netflix on May 1. Heeramandai is based on the life of courtesans at the red-light district of Heeramandi in Lahore during the Indian independence movement against the British Raj. The show stars Manisha Koirala, Richa Chadha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Shekhar Suman, Adhyayan Suman, Fardeen Khan, and Farida Jalal among others.

The series has got mixed reviews from fans.

Sonakshi Sinha reads Urdu newspaper in SLB Heeramadi during the pre-independence era; netizens spot major goof-ups

From grandeur sets and heavy jewellers worth crores, Bhansali left no stone unturned to weave his magic on OTT, but like every coin has two sides, a section of netizens were blown away by SLB's Heeramandi, and a section of them were pointing out errors and goof ups in the show.

Amid reviews and discussion about the show on social media, popular television actor Sheezan Khan who is known for shows like Jodha Akbar and Ali Baba: Dastaan-E-Kabul has criticised the actors in the show for their inability to speak Urdu in the period drama

Sheezan took to Instagram and said that only Farida Jalal managed to speak Urdu properly in the show. He wrote, "Apart from Farida Jalal ji! Nobody could speak "Urdu" in SLB's Heeramandi! Kisi Ka Nuqta, kha, qaf apni jagah pe nahi hai!! Kyu bhai kyu?? Urdu ke saath itni naainsaafi. Disappointed. (Nobody could pronounce it well. Why bother? Why such injustice with Urdu?)"

Not just Sheezan, social media users also slammed SLB's Heeramandi for the usage of Urdu.

'Fight against Corona': Sonakshi Sinha reads Urdu newspaper in SLB Heeramadi set in pre-independence era

A user wrote, "Deepika would have saved much of the criticism #Heeramandi is getting. At least she tried to clear her Urdu. Please in your next bring back Deepika, Aish, Priyanka and Madhuri or just don't try lavish stunts like casting Sharmin.."

A netizen pointed out that a scene in the series has sparked controversy due to a notable error pointed out by netizens.

An image has gone viral that shows, Sonakshi Sinha seen reading a newspaper featuring contemporary headlines about events like the Warangal Municipal Elections and mask distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another notable error occurred in a scene featuring Aditi Rao Hydari reading the Urdu novel Pir-e-Kamil, published in 2004.

Umera Ahmed, the novel's author, questioned the possibility of time travel on her Instagram.

Sharing a picture of the scene in question, Ahmed wrote, "So #PireKamil was written before partition or is Time Travel real? Interesting."

She added, "For people asking me the context, it's a scene from the Netflix series Heeramandi jisme partition say pehle ke Lahore me mojood aik bookstore ka scene dikhaya gaya hai and look in the left book kaunsi mojood hai us bookstore mai."

The next one mentioned, "Just binge-watched #Haramandi on Netflix and I'm blown away! The show is top-notch, but feel that it's missing a key element - our talented Pakistani actors and actresses! And, let's get the Urdu pronunciation right, too! Still, the story and performances are!.."

SLB wanted to cast PAK actors for Heeramandi 

Meanwhile, in an earlier interview, SLB said that he wanted to cast Pakistani actors such as Mahira Khan, Fawad Khan and Imran Abbas.