Sharmin Segal has been facing criticism for her performance in the recently released, Heeramandi. In a recent interview, Jayati Bhatia, who played Phatto Bi in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s show, also talked about the trolls Sharmin has been facing and argued that the young actress will have to “work harder” now to “prove herself”.
“This is a very important phase in her career, in her life. After this, she will only get better. This is the first step, she’s done Malaal, but here she’s worked under the guidance for Mr Bhansali, under his direction, so this is her first thing. Now she has to prove herself,” Bhatia told ABP’s Entertainment Live.
Jayati explained that maybe, Sharmin needs to change her “less is more” approach. “So there are so many characters, how do you make your presence felt? What approach will you take? So, maybe this was the approach that she (Sharmin) thought she could take, that less is more,” she said and then continued by saying, “In the next work that she does, she cannot rely on (the same acting style). She has to move forward from this, and show people, while remaining true to the story… She has to work harder now. She’s our darling, but as someone who trained her for her first film, I am very protective and fond of her. As a teacher, I can say that she needs to put the criticism aside and focus on her craft going forward.”
Previously, Jason Shah, who played the role of a British cop in Heeramandi, also admitted that the actress’ character in the show could have “intensified a lot more”. “There could have been a lot of different ups and downs, and the graph could have been very different because you had the opportunity, the scope to do so much. But if that’s what they were going for and accomplished, great. If not, then it is what it is,” he told Zoom.
Taha Shah Badussha also mentioned that he would’ve liked to have seen a more dynamic performance out of Sharmin.
Meanwhile, amid all this, Bhansali recently defended Sharmin’s casting and said she was exactly how her character Alamzeb should have been. “Somebody who doesn’t want to be a tawaif, she doesn’t talk like a tawaif, she doesn’t walk like a tawaif. Her face had innocence, whereas all the others had lived life, they had survived manipulation and mental games. You needed somebody with a fresh, innocent quality to her… I felt that Sharmin was the right choice for Alam not because she’s my niece,” he told India Today.
