Sharmin Segal, the breakout star of the highly acclaimed web series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, found herself at the centre of both admiration and controversy. Her connection to renowned filmmaker and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who has helmed the series, has reignited debates surrounding nepotism within the industry, while her performance in the series has received mixed reviews with some netizens calling her "expressionless" and her acting skills, "abysmal." In light of the overwhelming criticism, Sharmin disabled the comments section on her Instagram profile. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sharmin Segal Mehta (@sharminsegal) In a recent appearance on The Great Indian Kapil Show, alongside fellow Heeramandi cast members Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Sanjeeda Shaikh, Sharmin surprised viewers by revealing that she, too, had to audition for her role as Alamzeb despite being Bhansali's niece. As Kapil asked her, "Kya unhone aapka sach me audition liya tha ya aapne unko mamu banaya?", Sharmin replied that it was a gruelling year-long process involving sixteen auditions. "Ek saal ke liye prepare kiya aur 16 baar auditions diye (In one year I gave 16 auditions for the role)," she revealed on the show. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sharmin Segal Mehta (@sharminsegal) Controversy arose when Sharmin and the Devdas director were spotted at a special screening of Heeramandi in Los Angeles, which was notably unattended by any other cast members. This exclusivity drew criticism from fans and onlookers alike. Looks like Heeramandi actress Sharmin Segal is graduated from Deepika Padukone school of acting. DP is beautiful, has great screen presence, so she was saved by her beauty. Sharminda has neither beauty nor screen presence, so she looked like .. byu/HotTeaCofee inBollyBlindsNGossip Despite the mixed reception of her performance, Sharmin's co-stars have come to her defense, condemning the 'mean' trolling she has faced. Aditi, who plays Bibbo Jaan, Alamzeb's elder sister in the Netflix series, recently shared her thoughts on the controversy. "100%. It's horrible to pick on anybody. I know some people like something and some people don't. There is a way to say it. It can get very mean. It has gotten very mean and I think it's not fair and it shouldn't happen like that. I don't know what else to say but I do feel bad. I think we should all understand it and be there for each other,” she told journalist Puja Talwar during and interview on her YouTube channel. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Aditi Rao Hydari (@aditiraohydari) Aditi condemned the trolling as 'mean.' Speaking on how to tackle the trolls and stay afloat amid negativity and hatred, she added, “I also feel people do what they think is important to them. If some people want to be mean, that is their prerogative. We have to find a way around it otherwise it will be really difficult. Whoever is facing it, I would just say, 'look at the positive.'”
