Sharmin Segal may not have broken her silence on the criticism she's getting for her performance as Alamzeb in her uncle Sanjay Leela Bhansali's debut Netflix India show, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. But in a 2019 interview on Radio City India, Sharmin recalled a grilling encounter with Bhansali on the sets of her debut film, Malaal.  

When Sharmin gave 25 takes

In the interview taken during the promotions of Malaal, Sharmin recalled how Sanjay Leela Bansali, who was the producer of the film, never turned up on the sets except one day. She was filming a song sequence that day and was very nervous to see her uncle and mentor supervising the shot. 

“Wo ek shot mein meri jo vaat lagi hai. Main normally 15 takes deti thi. (I got screwed so much in that one shot. I usually gave 15 takes). I shouldn't say that (smiles). Mujhe 25 takes lage hain uss din. Fir finally ho gaya. Poore din ka jo maine apne aap ko prepare kar ke rakha tha, wo ek hi shot mein chala gaya. Tabhi main gayi andar vanity mein, tab sir aaye andar aur bole, ‘Mujhe bahut mazza aa raha hai. Main ek aur shot ke liye rukne wala hu’ (It took me 25 cuts that day. Then it finally happened. Whatever I had prepared for the entire day, got wasted on that one shot. When I got back to my vanity van, sir came and said, ‘I’m enjoying a lot. I'll stay back for one more shot',” Sharmin said.

When Sharmin broke down

“Main gayi set pe. 30 takes, okay nahi hua. Uske baad main itni frustrate ho gayi. Unhone mujh par chillaya nahi. Kuchh nahi bola, other than ‘Tumhe ye karna hai.’ Aur main nahi kar payi. Aur main ro padi 30 takes ke baad (I went back on set. 30 takes, it wasn't okayed. Then I got frustrated. He didn't scream at me. He didn't say anything except, ‘You have to do this.’ And I couldn't do it. So I cried after 30 takes)," Sharmin added.

Four years after Malal, Bhansali directed Sharmin in Heeramandi. On working with her, he told us exclusively, "She kept saying, ‘Mama, I’ll underplay.' I said, ‘Underplay? Are you thinking I’m going to ask you to overplay?”

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