Sanjay Leela Bhansali defends casting Sharmin Segal as Alamzeb in Heeramandi

Sanjay Leela Bhansali says Sharmin Segal was correct choice for Alamzeb in Heeramandi: ‘Needed somebody with...'

Sharmin Segal recently became the target of trolls for her perfromance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi. The actress faced criticism for her 'expressionless performance' as Alamzeb. However, now, the filmmaker has defended casting her in the role.

In a latest interview with india Today, sanjay leela bhansali called casting Sharmin Segal as Alamzeb correct choice and said, "She has a face of what Alamzeb should be - somebody who doesn't want to be a tawaif or has no makings of it. You needed somebody with very fresh, innocent quality to her, somebody who doesn't talk like a tawaif. And that person wants to break free with some pursuit of wanting to write poetry. So, I felt that Sharmin was the correct choice for Alamzeb."

Adding that Sharmin had to go through the grind, Bhansali added, “I didn’t cast her because she's my niece. She had to go through the grind. There were innumerable number of tests and auditions. There was no end to the number of tests I've done with her. After I've decided to cast her, then I said you have to go through the grind, you have to get it right. Because this is a world, you've never been to. You've never acted in a world like that. All these other actors on the show have worked over the period of time in a film like this or a character like this. They have understood all these nazakat and thumka and nakhra and all that.”

Heeramandi marks Sanjay Leela Bhansali's OTT debut and received mixed reviews from the audience. The show also stars Sonakshi Sinha, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Aditi Rao Hydari, manisha koirala and Richa Chadha along with Fardeen Khan, Shekhar Suman, Taha Shah Badussha and adhyayan suman among others in key roles. Set in the backdrop of the indian independence movement against british rule in india in the 1940s, Heeramandi chronicles the lives of tawaifs of Heeramandi in Lahore