Despite opening to polarising reactions, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s first-ever streaming series, the period drama Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, has drawn a significant viewership on Netflix and secured the number two spot on the platform’s weekly top 10 list for non-English language shows in its debut week, raking in 4.5 million views, with 33 million accumulated viewership hours.
However, while the show is earning massive praise from certain quarters, it is also facing significant criticism for its perceived glorification of non-consensual sex, glamorisation of women’s suffering and aestheticisation of their pain. Following its theme and presentation, much of the scrutiny has been directed towards actor Sharmin Segal, Bhansali’s niece who also played a key role in the show. Since the series debuted on May 1, Sharmin has faced intense backlash for her performance, which many have deemed poor. As the criticism escalated into online trolling and extended to her official social media profiles, Sharmin reportedly disabled comments on her Instagram account.
The actor had earlier addressed the criticisms and online trolling and opened up about how she handles all the scrutiny. “There is a lot of pressure and sometimes it manifests in weird ways,” she had said while appearing on a BBC Asian Network podcast, adding, “But I have a really good support system. I think my strongest support system is my sister. She also happened to be an assistant director on the show. So, it worked out in a way where I do have my outlets where I can vent.”
“In my personal life, I am secure enough today to come home to my husband and put everything that I have done at work aside. But I am not that person who’s gonna constantly put that much pressure on it. Yes, I do want to prove myself; but today I am also a realist in that way. We live in a world of 1.7 billion people, in India itself (this is a figure Sharmin got wrong during the chat. As per UN data from last year, India’s population is around 1.4 billion). After all, how many people’s opinions are you gonna shape or have control over,” she asked.
“In that way, if I start taking all that pressure on myself… I am a very strong advocate for mental health and living a happy life. So, I do want to do what I want to do and I would love for everyone to love Alamzeb (her character). But, at the end of the day, there will be people who have to say what they have to say,” Sharmin added.
In her review of the series, The Indian Express’ Shubhra Gupta wrote, “It’s when Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Netflix show turns its eyes on the faded grandeur of its ‘Lahore ki ranis’ in their gilded cages, grime peeking out from behind their finery, that the show is most effective.”
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