Snehil Dixit Mehra Makes Her Directorial Debut With Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi

Social media influencer and actor Snehil Dixit Mehra became an overnight sensation with her 20-second appearance in ALTBalaji’s ‘Apharan’. Snehil’s character, BC Aunty (Bheri Cute Aunty), instantly clicked with the audience. Snehil is once again back in the news as she makes her directorial debut with none other than the ‘man with vision’ Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi.

Snehil took up to her ‘gram and shared a couple of pictures from the sets of Heeramandi. In the first picture, she is holding a mike and looking at the screen while in the next picture, she is posing with a clapperboard. In the other pictures she is busy working and posing with the cast members and Mr. Bhansali.

She captioned the post,

“It’s Heeramandi Day!! Beyond Excited to have made my Directorial Debut under the Mentorship of Shri Sanjay Leela Bhansali Sir 🙌🏻 It’s a testament in team work and synergies to have created such a masterpiece. To all the Heeras of Heeramandi 🥂”

Celebrities like Ridhima Pandit, Elli Avrram, and Maanvi Gagroo were amongst others who congratulated her.

In an interview with TOI, Snehil shared, “I met Sanjay Leela Bhansali in 2021 for their magnum opus long format show Heeramandi and started work as an in-house writer. It was a dream come true. The shooting commenced in 2022 June and one day sir asked me if I would be interested in shooting a few scenes as a director, under his guidance obviously. I was unsure but he encouraged me and told me he will be there to support. I consider myself fortunate to have worked with Bhansali Sir as a mentee. He truly mentored me to be a better screenwriter and a director.”

On working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, she added, “It is more than a miracle for me. To be a small town nobody to have worked with Sanjay Sir. I don’t have any formal education in film making. I was selected to be a part of the team based on one interview that I did with sir, he just liked the way I approached scenes. Sanjay Sir is my film school and he truly was empowering and he let me find my own voice. Sir is a genius and I have not seen anyone as committed to his craft as him. It is a 24/7 commitment to the project that he requires from all his team, and he wants synergies in all departments to create timeless pieces of art. I am eagerly waiting to work with him again soon.”

‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar’ is a period drama set in Heera Mandi during India’s independence movement, featuring a stellar cast of Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Fardeen Khan, Taha Shah Badussha, Shekhar Suman and Adhyayan Suman.

Snehil started her career journey in the entertainment business with a news channel, after interning with them and a trade magazine. Snehil bagged another opportunity of an internship with a production house. Apart from Apharan, she has also been part of the series Bebaakee.