Actor Sharmin Segal has been facing flak for her performance in her uncle Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s show, Heeramandi. Now, her co-star Jayati Bhatia, who played Phatto Bi in the web series, has come forward to support her, saying she has to move and look ahead in her career. 

In an interview to ABP’s Entertainment Live, Jayati spoke up about the row around her performance. She also had advice for her, and said she should go for “less is more” going forward.

Jayati supports Sharmin

During the interview, Jayati was asked about her opinion on the uproar against Sharmin’s performance in the show.

“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,” she said.

Here, Jayati defended Sharmin by saying that she took a different approach with her character, and that’s because some actors feel if they do more then it will become too much. She added that there is a chance that Sharmin thought it is better to take less is more approach.

Now, Jayati feels Sharmin needs to look ahead, and prove herself in her next project.

“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,” she added.

Sharmin faces the heat

In the show, Sharmin portrays the character of Alamzeb, the daughter of Mallikajaan, played by Manisha Koirala.

Since the release, her performance has been the talk of the town, with a section of social media users wondering if she got the role because of her personal bond with Sanjay. “Sharmin Sehgal had too much screen time for her abysmal acting skills. She can't act at all. Bad diction along with her lack of expressions ruined the entire experience,” wrote one social media user. In fact, a lot of memes are also surfacing on social media, taking a dig at Sharmin’s performance.

Several of her co-stars, including show’s casting director Shruti Mahajan, have come forward to support her.

“There are a lot of people who liked her voice, and acting. They have said that she looks fresh and brings newness to the cast. People say that she doesn’t seem to belong to the world of Heeramandi or part of the world of courtesans. But that was the brief. It was all about her not belonging to the world, and not feel like she is a courtesan. That’s what we kept in mind,” Shruti told HT, adding, “What you see is the cast of Heeramandi, and I am very proud of it”.

The Netflix show is set in the backdrop of the Indian independence revolution, and puts spotlight on the clash between the courtesans of the red-light district of Heeramandi in Lahore and the officials during the British Raj. It also stars Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Fardeen Khan, Taha Shah Badussha, and Shekhar Suman.

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