Heeramandi’s ‘Ustad ji’ Indresh Malik on intimate scene with Jason Shah: ‘Proximity to another male was something….’ - Exclusive

In Pic: Indresh Malik (Screenshot)

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's ‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar' was the most anticipated project of the month. Since its release, the series has been garnering a lot of attention. Actor Indresh Malik, who played the role of Ustad ji, in an exclusive chat with midday.com, talks about his famous nath scene, doing an intimate sequence with Jason Shah, working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali once again, and more.

The actor started the conversation by sharing that he feels proud he got another chance to work with Bhansali after a cameo in ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi'. The actor also revealed that in ‘Heeramandi', Ustadji's role was originally small but then it went on. He said, "Ustadji was originally a 20-day job which went on and on for approximately more than two years. And I am and will always remain in awe of Sanjay Leela Bhansali. And who is not? He is a genius. I got a lot of love from him. I never got scolded. I tried to understand his eyes. He helped me to open up, to spread, to create, to improvise, to add nuances. It was his confidence in me that helped me."

Further, while talking about his character, Indresh shared, "No one knows the background of the character Ustadji. Whose child is he? Who threw him away? Where did he come from? Who are his parents? Someone must have left him. Childhood exploitation of every kind might be possible with this kind of character. Must have gone through a lot. He must have grown up here in Heeramandi. Must have endured a lot of abuse. He has a grudge against society. He must have a motive to take revenge. Must have been angry."

One of the most beautiful scenes from Bhansali's Heeramandi was the nath (nose ring) scene. During one of the sequences, Sonakshi's character puts a nath on Ustadji's nose, which leaves him emotional. Talking about that scene, he said, "Sir gave me a briefing. I tried to understand a little. And when he wears a nath, he gets respect. He gets accepted. The love that the character of Ustadji is searching for. It must have touched him somewhere. After doing that scene, I couldn't stop crying for five minutes. I continuously cried even after the cut. Sir loved me a lot. Everyone loved me. My eyes were wet. I drank water. Sir hugged me. And gave me a note of Rs 500 as a token of appreciation. I took the Rs 500 token from Guru's hand."

Another scene that got a lot of appreciation was Indresh's intimate scene with Jason Shah. This is the first time Indresh has done such a scene. "There was no resistance anywhere. So when you are playing this character, who has a lot of arts and shades and layers, it will be challenging for any actor, at least it was for me. Proximity to another male was something that I had never done before. It was difficult. Thodi hitchak jarur thi and I will be very honest about it," he signs off.

The star-studded cast of the series also includes Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Shekhar Suman, and Fardeen Khan. ‘Heeramandi' is streaming on Netflix from May 1.