Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's niece Sharmin Segal, who also recently featured in his debut web series Heeramandi, has been at the receiving end of constant trolling for her performance in the Netflix original. A segment of users on the Internet claimed that she did not deserve the role and got it only due to nepotism. The negativity turned so sour that Sharmin had to turn off comments of some of her Instagram posts. During a recent interview with Bollywood Hungama, her Heeramandi co-stars Adhyayan and Shekhar Suman weighed in on the discussion and adviced the actress to come out and speak to her fans about the criticism coming her way. He said, “If she is being criticised for her performance, she should come out and speak to people. The audiences are very gentle, they'll give you another chance if they feel you've worked hard.”
He added, "I think it's very important to not live in a bubble. It's very important to accept any sort of reality, not just Heeramandi, per se. It's very important to understand who you are, it's very important to understand whether you have it in you to fight the next 15-20 years. It's important for you to not lie to yourself.”
Earlier, in an exclusive conversation with News18 Showsha, Sharmin Segal broke silence about the trolling she is facing and said, “The audience is the king at the end of the day. And as a creative person, it's very important to acknowledge that. They have a right to their opinion – positive or negative. That's one thing that gives me perspective and allows me to be okay.”
Sharmin Segal made her acting debut with the 2019 film Malaal. The project was backed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. She has worked as an assistant director for various movies such as Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, Mary Kom, Bajirao Mastani, and Gangubai Kathiawadi.