Heeramandi Actor Jason Shah On That Rape Scene Featuring Manisha Koirala: "It Breaks Her"

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is receiving much love from fans and critics alike. The series, which marks director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's debut in the OTT space, features a stellar cast including Sonakshi Sinha, Sharmin Segal, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Manisha Koirala, Richa Chadha, and Aditi Rao Hydari. Recently, Jason Shah, who portrays the role of British police officer Cartwright in the Netflix show, discussed a particular scene where his character asks Mallikajaan (played by Manisha Koirala) to dance in front of his officers. During a conversation with India Today, the actor spoke about the scene where Mallikajaan arrives at the police station and requests the officers to release her daughter Alamzeb (played by Sharmin Segal). He said, “I think the rape scene is quite relevant because it is breaking her (Mallikajaan) character. I think she comes to terms in her own mind however she sees it. She does it for a daughter. She also realises that the power-play game still lies in the hands of the British and she has to do what it takes as she was taking the decision (sic).” 

Jason Shah continued, “This has happened quite a few times in India. Which is very sad, India has a problem with rape and all sorts of things. I hope it makes people, not want to do things but actually realise the seriousness of these issues (sic). I was born and raised in a Gujarati family and have an English mom. I have received racism from my side of the family as they looked at me as a white kid because of my skin tone and we live in a complex world. We should never go to the heights of what Cartwright did that was illegal (sic).”

Sharing his experience of working in Heeramandi, Jason Shah added, “It was fantastic, working with the crew I learned a lot working with new directors… it was amazing… it was great working with Indian Bollywood heroines and it was like a dream come true moment. Obviously, the amount of screen time that I have gotten will help me a lot on international platforms as well. All over it was a good experience for me (sic).”

In addition to Heeramandi, Jason Shah has appeared in several projects such as Chandrashekhar, Jhansi Ki Rani, Barrister Babu, and Swaraj.