Sharmin Segal, the niece of popular filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, received massive backlash for her acting in her uncle’s web series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. Actress Jayati Bhatia, who helped Sharmin build her character for her debut Malaal, shared her honest views about the actress in a recent interview, also addressing the reason for defending Sharmin amid the backlash, her performance in the Netflix series, and more.
Speaking up on defending Sharmin amid the backlash for her poor acting as Alamzeb in Heeramandi and whether she genuinely liked her performance in the series, Jayati said she isn’t saying she defended her because she liked Sharmin’s performance but she recalled Sanjay Leela Bhansali asking her to coach Sharmin in character building after Sharmin returned India after completing her graduation from Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York for her debut Malaal.
Then, Jayati revealed she realized while working with Sharmin that, belonging to a film family and having studied and met several big personalities, Sharmin had her own idea of how to perform and act.
Jayati also added that Sharmin had an idea, or kind of a perspective, of her own which was mismatched, and she knows this because she has spent so much time working with her.
Opening up on her sessions with Sharmin, Jayati highlighted she did make Sharmin understand the differences of Indian cinema and foreign cinema. Jayati also claimed that if one had worked with Sharmin in individual scenes, she would have done better.
Sharing her views on Sharmin’s performance in Heeramandi, Jayati shared that Alamzeb, the character Sharmin played in Heeramandi, was a very complex character. Explaining the issue, Jayati stated that Sharmin has a “less is more” approach to acting that couldn’t resonate with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s project, which affected the outcome.
