Amidst people questioning her acting skills in 'Heeramandi', let's take a close look at SLB's niece, Sharmin Segal's life.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's niece, Sharmin Segal has been grabbing all the headlines for her role in the series, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. While the cine junkies are going gaga over SLB's recent project, a certain section of the audience imposed a question about Sharmin's acting skills, along with dragging her down in the never-ending debate of nepotism. For the unversed, Sharmin has worked as an assistant director of Sanjay before kickstarting her career as an actress. However, while everyone is busy gossiping about the actress' acting skills, let us take a close look at her life.
Sharmin Segal was born to Sanjay Leela Bhansali's sister and film editor, Bela Segal, and her husband, Deepak Segal. The actress is hailed from Mumbai, and she has a connection to the legendary actress, Rekha. Yes! You read it right. Sharmin's grandfather and film director, Mohan Segal, introduced Rekha to the Hindi film industry. However, talking about Sharmin's educational qualifications, if the reports are to be believed, the actress attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York and completed her course back in 2019.
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For those who don't know, Sharmin Segal had to face a tough time in her childhood as she was bullied for being overweight. The actress, in several of her interviews, talked about the same. In an old interview with the Hindustan Times, Sharmin stated that in her age from 11-18 years, she was fat-shamed by the kids of her school for 13-14 years of her life. Talking about the same, Sharmin had said:
"I was really fat for 13-14 years of my life. There were kids in school who used to make fun of me from the ages of 11-18, until I graduated from school."
In the same interview, Sharmin Segal shared that until she was 17, she dreamed of being a doctor, but something happened that led her to grow an interest in acting. The actress stated that she took theatre in her school, and once, when she was performing as a 'fat friend-type character', the three boys who bullied her in the school laughed from the audience. Talking more about the same, Sharmin added that seeing those boys laughing at her on that day made her feel like they were laughing at her character but not at her. Sharmin said she just wanted to be fat Sharmin on that day, as she felt that acting is something that can make someone feel not like themselves.
Going forward in the interview, Sharmin Segal mentioned that although people say that body shaming is wrong, one must be confident of their body, which she was not at all. Speaking along the same lines, Sharmin revealed that after being bullied for 15 years, she had lost her confidence. She also added that if someone is happy and confident about their bodies, then they should not think about losing weight to enter the industry. Sharmin revealed:
"People say body-shaming and all that is wrong, and you should be confident of your body, but I wasn't. After being bullied for 15 years of my life, I wasn't confident. People have asked me, 'Is it wrong to be fat and an actor?' I said, 'No. If you are happy and confident, and you can look into a mirror in the morning and say haan main achchi lag rahi hoon, then that's your personal choice."
For the unversed, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is Sharmin Segal's maternal uncle, but despite the same, she addressed the director as 'sir'. In an interview, the actress talked about the reason behind the same. Speaking to The Indian Express, Sharmin Segal shared that when she was four years old, she used to go to the sets of Devdas, and would want to sit on Aishwarya Rai's lap as a kid. However, after becoming an assistant director of Bhansali in Bajirao Mastani, she understood what kind of a talented man the director is.
In the same interview, Sharmin Segal added that the reason she addresses Sanjay Leela Bhansali as 'sir' and not as 'mama' is because the director deserves that respect. Sharmin added that when she watched Devdas at the age of 17, Sanjay had become 'sir' for her more than her maternal uncle. She remarked that she feels privileged to be related to SLB and grateful as the latter has given her a chance to showcase her capabilities to the world. Sharmin shared:
"I call him Sanjay sir only because I think he deserves that respect. For me, he became a 'sir' when I watched Devdas at the age of 17. I thought to myself 'What kind of a man is he?' He is so brilliant. I feel privileged that I am related to him and he has given me a chance to prove my capabilities to the world."
Sharmin Segal began her professional journey back as an assistant director for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela. Apart from that, the actress also assisted SLB in several projects like Mary Kom, Bajirao Mastani, and Gangubai Kathiawadi. In 2019, Sharmin made her acting debut in 2019 movie, Malaal, which was produced by Sanjay. Malaal brought the actress immense fame and recognition.
While talking about her debut, Sharmin once added that she had felt a lot of pressure as there had been a lot of expectations from people and she also had to prove herself as the niece of SLB. Apart from Malaal, Sharmin was also seen in Atithi Bhooto Bhava. The actress' recent work is Heeramandi, for which she has been receiving flak. In the series, she played the role of 'Alamzeb' and bagged an amount of Rs. 30 lakh for the same.
Sharmin Segal likes to keep her personal life under wraps. However, it was last year when she got married to the man of her dreams, Aman Mehta, at a dreamy wedding soiree. Although not many reports about Aman are known, as per several reports, Sharmin's husband works in the Indian finance industry. On her wedding day, Sharmin looked like a dream in a pastel-hued lehenga featuring intricate stone and cut dana work all over. Aman, on the other hand, complemented her in a matching sherwani.
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If the reports are to be believed, as of 2023, Sharmin Segal has a net worth of 1.5 million dollars, i.e., Rs. 11 crore. As per the same reports, the net worth of the actress has some other sources like brand endorsements and commercial ventures, along with several movies.
Although, Sharmin Segal failed to meet the audience's desired expectations, we couldn't get over her skills in Malaal. We hope she will continue to mesmerise her fans with her acting talents.
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