Sanjay Leela Bhansali's niece Sharmin Segal is an actor whose performance in "Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar" has drawn comment. In an Entertainment LIVE interview, her co-star Jason Shah—who plays the evil Cartwright—recently discussed her performance and called it "one tone." Though there is merit to some criticism, Jason thinks Sharmin's character was given the finest possible portrayal.

Jason remembered how on set Sanjay Leela Bhansali sought to mentor Sharmin, telling her to follow her heart instead of her brain. "In my opinion, several scenes ought to have had more emotional nuance," Jason said. 'Stop behaving from your head, act from your emotions,' Sanjay frequently urged. Maybe her character was meant to go in that manner. We got along fine and she did her share.

Jason conjectured that there were reports Sharmin was told to perform subduedly. "I think the character had room for more variation if she wasn't told to keep it one-tone," he said, making it clear that he is speaking from an actor's viewpoint rather than a director's.

In "Heeramandi," Sharmin plays Manisha Koirala's character, Mallikajaan's daughter Alamzeb. Her OTT debut was with this show. There are many who defend her performance in spite of the complaints. “Many people appreciated her voice and fresh presence,” casting director Shruti Mahajan said. It was deliberate that she not come across as a courtesan.

The Netflix series examines the tensions between British Raj authorities and courtesans in the red-light district of Lahore against the backdrop of the Indian independence struggle. The ensemble features Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Fardeen Khan, Taha Shah Badussha, Shekhar Suman, and Adhyayan Suman.