Shri Paramani Jewels rides high on pre-launch buzz for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi  

While the brand promoted the jewellery on its social media platforms, most of the publicity was organic due to wide media coverage, the high-profile premiere event and the association with renowned film-maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali for the web series that releases on Netflix on May 1 

Jaipur: Even before the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s web series Heeramandi, the majestic Mughal-era jewellery created by Shri Paramani Jewels for the cast has been making waves. The designing of the jewellery, by Anshu Gupta and Vinay Gupta, founders of Shri Paramani Jewels, started three years ago and has been a collaborative effort between the jewellers and the acclaimed director. They went all out in terms of quality and quantity to make thousands of pieces of jewellery, all of which were overseen first by the brand’s founders and then by Bhansali before making the final cut. 

“This project was certainly challenging as it took three years but also full of fun and passion as this is what we wanted to do, instead of fulfilling business goals such as sales or brand promotion. With Bhansali’s eye for perfection and beauty, we created many options for every piece till it was perfect,” shared Vinay Gupta, Founder, Shri Paramani Jewels. 

Talking about the process, Gupta elaborated that apart from the six main characters in the series, jewellery had to be made for many other supporting actors as well. A lot of jhumkas, passas, naths, necklaces and other pieces were designed using Basra pearls, rubies, emeralds and diamonds to complement the style and essence of the main characters and the supporting cast. The designs were handcrafted to simulate Mughal-era jewellery, which would not have been possible if modern jewellery-making techniques were used. 

While the brand promoted the jewellery and the series on its social media platforms, most of the publicity was organic due to wide media coverage, the high-profile premiere event and the association with the renowned film-maker. 

On whether the brand will retail the kind of jewellery created for Heeramandi, Gupta said that customers are welcome to approach the brand for any of the pieces they are interested in. “Though we will not be able to exactly replicate the jewellery from the series, we can work with the ideas that the customer has in mind and create similar pieces, since all of the jewellery is not available with us,” Gupta explained. 

The Hindi-language magnum opus Heeramandi explores the lives of three generations of courtesans in pre-Independence Lahore’s famous Heeramandi area, also known as Shahi Mohalla or royal neighbourhood, and will be released on Netflix on May 1, 2024. It stars Manisha Koirala, Richa Chadha, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Shermin Segal and Sanjeeda Shaikh. 

This is the second time Bhansali and Shri Paramani Jewels have come together for a project. In 2015, they worked hand-in-hand to create an original collection of jewellery for the Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh starrer, Bajirao Mastani.  

For Shri Paramani Jewels, known for its heritage Polki and Jadau pieces, the immediate future is the success of Heeramandi while it continues to work on other collaborations and projects. 

Written by Aparna Bhowmick 

Retail Jeweller India Exclusive