Shekhar Suman will be next seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. In a recent interview, addressing the rumors of the magnum-opus director being tough to work with, he had said that he is a “perfectionist” who has every right to be “short-tempered.”
On the other hand, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s niece, Sharmin Segal who is also an important part of the upcoming period-drama series reacted to Shekhar’s claims. Holding a different point of view, she opined that perfectionist is “a very basic word” to describe the director.
Sharmin Segal reacts to Shekhar Suman’s ‘perfectionist’ comment about Sanjay Leela Bhansali
In a recent conversation with News 18 Showsha, Sharmin Segal hit back at Shekhar Suman’s response. According to her, an outsider who has never worked with the director would use such a word to describe him.
She said, “It’s the kind of a word that an outsider who has never worked with him, been on his set, and seen the kind of director that he is will use. He adapts to change very well. He likes challenging himself with different things. For him it’s not about being perfect.”
“He looks for rawness, magic, and spontaneity. And if he was only a perfectionist, he wouldn’t have treated spontaneity and instinctiveness the way he does. He really appreciates those things. So, I wouldn’t call him a purely perfectionist person,” the Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar actress added further.
She went on to state that it is ‘unfair’ to misinterpret the director’s passion and determination to achieve his vision on screen. Hailing Bhansali as a ‘hardworking man’, the actress stated that his ‘perseverance is unmatched’. According to her, one has to give in their 100 % to match what the director has envisioned. Thus, he pushes and expects the same from people working with.
“‘Perfectionist’ is a term used to box Sanjay Leela Bhansali but he’s far more than that,” she remarked.
Here’s what Shekhar Suman said about Sanjay Leela Bhansali
For the unversed, in a recent interview with Siddharth Kanan, Shekhar Suman while addressing the rumors of Bhansali being short-tempered and having anger issues had stated, “How does it matter (if he’s short-tempered)?” said Shekhar while defending Sanjay Leela Bhansali and added, “He has every right to be. Why does he get angry? He’s not a madman, but he is a perfectionist. You will always notice that perfectionists are short-tempered because they get impatient with everybody else for not being at their level.”
Sharmin Segal on work environment on Sanjay Leela Bhansali set
In the same interview with the portal, Sharmin was also queried about the work environment on a Sanjay Leela Bhansali set considering several actors have admitted getting reprimanded by the director in the past.
To this, the actress mentioned that the director respectfully treats all the crew members including technicians, spot boys and camera people. She remarked that the amount of work put in by the crew members is often not acknowledged enough.
She expressed her views suggesting that “actors are a privileged class” but the art and the lighting team come three-four hours before the actors and leave only disassembling after the actors leave.
The actress mentioned how these extended work hours go unnoticed on most of the film sets, however, people willingly extend their work hours on an SLB set owing to the respect they’ve for him.
“On Sanjay sir’s set, people are willing to extend their shifts beyond twelve hours by two-three more hours. They do it out of respect for him and for what he’s creating. I don’t see this happening anywhere else. That’s why, I think boiling him down to a ‘temperamental perfectionist’ is a bit basic,” she was quoted as saying.
Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar will premiere on Netflix on May 1, 2024.
