‘The Hate Went Too Far’

‘I
have
a
really
strong
support
system
at
home
and
they
keep
me
going.’

Sharmin
Segal,
whose
performance
in
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali’s



Heeramandi:
The
Diamond
Bazaar
has
come
for
trolling,
is
no
mood
to
take
the
naysayers
on
headlong.

But
she
relents
when

Subhash
K
Jha
requests
her.

Clarifying
her
comment
on
the
‘nothingness’
in
Meena
Kumari’s
performances,
Sharmin
says,
“I
don’t
know
why
people
are
leaving
out
the
sentence
that
I
said,
which
was,
‘I
tried
to
emulate
the
way
Meena
Kumariji
looks
into
nothingness’
and
just
extracting
the
word
‘nothingness’
from
what
I
said.

“In
no
way
was
I
calling
Meena
Kumariji
or
her
performance
in

Pakeezah
‘nothingness’.
That
is
not
something
I
would
ever
do.
I
was
referring
to
the
way
she
stares
into
infinity
and
looks
at
something
celestial
that
only
she
can
see,
whereas
in
reality
there
is
nothing
there.

“It
is
sad
how
people
have
only
picked
up
one
word,
and
taken
it
out
of
context.

“I
would
like
to
make
one
more
thing
clear
on
this
issue:
I
would
never
dare
compare
myself
to
Meena
Kumariji.
She
is
a
legend.
I
was
just
inspired
by
her
greatness.
As
artistes,
we
are
always
inspired
by
our
surroundings
and
people
we
look
up
to.
It
was
never
a
comparison.”

About
the
savage
trolling
that
she
has
been
subjected
to,
Sharmin
says,
“With
everything
that
is
of
significance
in
life,
there
is
good
and
there
is
bad.
Both
sides
should
be
looked
at
and
given
importance
to.
And
it
is
important
to
remain
grounded.

“We
live
in
an
unpredictable
world
today,
where
everyone
is
vulnerable
because
of
social
media.
My
interviews
were
being
taken
out
of
context
and
some
of
my
co-stars
have
spoken
graciously
as
to
how
these
interviews
were
taken
out
of
context.

“I
share
a
cordial
equation
with
both
Aditi
Rao
Hydari
and
Sanjeeda
Sheikh.
I
wish
that
people
would
not
use
10
seconds
out-of-context
clips
to
define
the
relationship
I
share
with
them.

“I
know
that
I
have
really
worked
hard
on
my
character,
Alamzeb.
After
that,
it
is
up
to
the
audience
to
like
or
dislike
my
performance.
I
think
the
hate
went
too
far
but
I
have
a
really
strong
support
system
at
home
and
they
keep
me
going.”