‘Opinions shape you as an actor’: Sharmin Sehgal on trolls over her Heeramandi performance

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaaar has been widely discussed across social media. Most aspects of the show have earned rave reviews. But, one thing that netizens can't stop talking about is actress Sharmin Segal and her performance as Alamzeb. 

Sharmin, who is the niece of the director, faced a lot of criticism for her stale performance in the show. Netizens have bashed her performance and called out Bhansali for selecting her in the lead role instead of casting a deserving actress, triggering a never-ending nepotism debate.  

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After remaining silent on the backlash for a long time, the actress has finally reacted to all the trolling that she has received since the show has released on the streaming giant Netflix

What Sharmin Has Said About Her Trolling?

Talking about the backlash, Sharmin shared, “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,” she said.

Talking further, the actress shared how apart from negative comments, their were positive comments that many didn't put their focus on, she said, “I had given my all to Alamzeb’s character. We tend to fixate on the negatives but there are so many positives that have also come along, which we don’t talk about. It’s perhaps not interesting enough to talk about positives and we tend to look over them to some degree.” 

In the starting, Sehgal revealed that she chose to distance herself from the audience's feedback by turning off the comments section. Only to realise later that how by doing this she's keeping herself away from public opinion which probably helped to improve her work. 

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“There was a point when I was not looking at many things (reviews) but then slowly, I realised that I was also missing out on a lot of love that I was getting. I’ve now started paying attention to that. Over the last few days, I decided to look through it all. The audience’s opinion is what will probably help you be the best version of yourself,” she said.

Sharmin On Constructive Criticism and Feedback: Opinions Are Very Important

Acknowledging the wide range of opinions she’s received, the Malaal actress said, “I saw positivity, constructive criticism, and a whole range of feedback and that’s what happens when you put yourself out there as an artist or an actor. It was actually quite nice to hear all sides of things. It’s an inevitability. Opinions shape you as an actor and a human being. These are actual humans responding to you and it makes you realise how many people you can reach. These opinions are very important,” she added.

Despite the criticism, the actress shared that she is happy that with her role of Alamzeb in Heeramandi, she has reached so many people that she could’ve ever connected to in her entire life. Amidst this, people also came to know about her debut movie Malaal into the discussion.

Apart from Sharmin, the show also starred acclaimed stars like Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, and Sanjeeda Sheikh.

Meanwhile, Heeramandi has been renewed for season 2 at Netflix.