Heeramandi co-director Snehil Dixit Mehra feels the trolling Sharmin Segal received was excessive: ‘She fulfilled Bhansali sir’s vision’

Sharmin Segal has been at the receiving end of brutal trolling since Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s web series Heeramandi started streaming online. Many viewers have criticized her performance as ‘expressionless’ and found her to be rude to her co-actors during interviews. Snehil Dixit Mehra, one of the additional directors of the historical drama series, felt that the trolling Sharmin received was excessive after a certain point.
Mehra expressed that while they were prepared for some nitpicking, the troll culture was particularly hurtful. She believed that critiquing someone’s work is acceptable, but personal attacks can lower morale.
“Everybody on that set was giving their 100 percent, including Sharmin. She fulfilled the vision sir had for her. It’s unfortunate that people didn’t relate to it. But there is also a section who is loving her for not going overboard and just admire her voice. It’s just the negativity gets highlighted more,” she told Hindustan Times.

Mehra also shared her own experiences with trolling, revealing that she had been fat-shamed a lot initially. Although it used to hurt, she dealt with it by keeping herself busy. “I couldn’t go to people and explain that I am a mother of one, and that’s why maybe I am overweight. But if seeing me, if even one overweight woman gets inspired, that’s a victory for me,” she explained.

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar is set to return with a second season. The series marked the OTT debut of Bhansali and told the story of Indian courtesans amid the freedom struggle. It starred Aditi Rao Hydari, Manisha Koirala, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal, Sanjeeda Shaikh, and Sonakshi Sinha.
This time around, the women of Heeramandi will head to India after the partition and look to settle in the Hindi or Bengali film industry.