Sharmin Segal Reflects on Childhood Encounter with Salman Khan and Success of ‘Heeramandi’

Sharmin Segal has been making waves ever since her appearance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s series “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.” In a recent interview with Zoom, the actress, who is also Bhansali’s niece, reminisced about her first encounter with Salman Khan during the filming of “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.”

When asked about the first celebrity she met, Sharmin named Salman Khan and shared a humorous anecdote about how he jokingly proposed to her for marriage when she was just a toddler. “I was like 2 or 3, and he said, ‘Will you marry me?’ and I responded, ‘No!’” she recounted, explaining that she was too young to understand what marriage meant and thus would decline everything.

Currently, Sharmin Segal is basking in the success of “Heeramandi,” which premiered on Netflix earlier this month and quickly garnered attention for its casting. Despite being trolled for her performance as Alamzeb, Sharmin addressed whether her relationship with Bhansali afforded her any special treatment. “On the contrary, I don’t get any leeways. He loves me a lot, and I’m not denying that. There are moments when he looks at me as his niece when I’m just sitting. But on set, I see him as Sanjay Leela Bhansali, a respect he has earned throughout his career. I can’t disregard that just because I’m related to him,” she told Indian Express.

Sharmin further expressed her admiration for Bhansali, acknowledging the respect she has for him as a filmmaker. “My respect for him skyrocketed when I matured enough to understand his work. Working with him as an assistant, I saw the immense hard work he puts in. As an actor, I recognized his genius. Both my sister and I call him Sanjay sir, never mama in public,” she added.

“Heeramandi” also features a stellar cast including Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Farida Jalal, Fardeen Khan, Shekhar Suman, and Adhyayan Suman in significant roles.