Sharmin Segal played Alamzeb in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali recalled Sharmin Segal had concerns about ‘under-playing’ her character in Heeramandi.
Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali is receiving acclaim for his debut web series, ‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar’. His multi-starrer OTT debut series that starred actors like Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Aditi Rao Hydari and his niece Sharmin Segal has been a topic of discussion ever since its release. In a recent interview, the film-maker opened up working with Sharmin.
Sharmin portrayed Alamzeb, the daughter of Mallikajaan (Manisha Koirala), the madam of the Heeramandi brothel. During an interview with Hindustan Times, Sanjay Leela Bhansali recalled, “She kept saying, ‘Mama, I’ll underplay.’ I said, ‘Underplay? Are you thinking I’m going to ask you to overplay?
Sanjay Leela Bhansali further expressed that he found Sharmin Segal’s ‘new energy’ fascinating, “I know that they (the new generation of actors) love me as much. I can see it in the way (they ask me), ‘Are you happy? Should we do one more take? Can we do it one more time? Are you okay? I can see that love in their eyes. Now that’s very rare,” he stated.
Meanwhile, in a recent interview, Jason Shah shared that Sharmin should have brought in a little more emotion in her performance in Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. He recalled that even Bhansali had asked Sharmin to act from her heart on the sets of the show.
“I feel there should have been higher escalations of emotions in different places. I remember Sanjay sir also saying on sets to not act from here (mind) act from here(heart) to Sharmin and another actor alongside her (Taha Shah),” Jason told Ent Live.
“I don’t know maybe that is what they wanted from her. Maybe that is the one tone they were looking from this character, that is again the director’s call. But yes, she was alright, she did her thing, and we worked pretty easily together,” the actor added.
Previously, Sharmin’s co-star Taha Shah also opened up about the negativity she has been facing and defended her. He was speaking to Zoom when he said, “Sharmin has only done two films, and her method involves keeping it subtle.”
“Having worked with her, I know she’s given her best as an actor. I didn’t anticipate receiving this much love and appreciation for my role, hence the audience can be quite unpredictable to be honest. As far as Sharmin and her performance are concerned, I’ve literally lived with her on the sets. She was always punctual and tried to do her best. How it comes off to the audience, is a different ball game and I can’t comment on them. But I know that she has got a great heart. She was always present on the set and as an actor, that’s what you all need,” Taha added
