Meena Kumari's Stepson Slams Sharmin Segal For Comparing Her Performance In 'Heeramandi' With 'Pakeezah'

Sharmin Segal has become the talk of the town after she appeared in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Heeramandi’ where she played the role of Alamzeb. The actor was mercilessly trolled by netizens for her performance. In a previous interview, the actor revealed that she watched Meena Kumari’s ‘Pakeezah’ and drew inputs from that movie into her character. Now, Kumari’s stepson Tajdar Amrohi has broken his silence and has shared what he thinks about Segal’s performance.

In a conversation with Zoom, Tajdar Amrohi spoke about what he felt after he heard Sharmin Segal comparing her performance in ‘Heeramandi’ to his late stepmother Meena Kumari’s ‘Pakeezah.’ Amrohi dismissed the statements made by Segal and stated that there could not be another Kumari. He said, “I don’t know Sharmin. But no, I can’t relate to her statement on nothingness.”

Additionally, he also remarked that ‘Heeramandi’ and ‘Pakeezah’ are starkly different, and they cannot be compared. He continued, “Zameen aasman ka farak hai between ‘Heeramandi’ and ‘Pakeezah’ (There is a difference of earth and sky between them). Don’t compare the two. Nobody can make ‘Pakeezah’ again. Neither Meena Kumari nor Kamal Amrohi can ever be born again.”

His statement comes after Segal mentioned that she drew inspiration from Kumari. In an earlier interview with ETimes, the actor said, “I tried to bring Meena Kumari’s nothingness from ‘Pakeezah’ into my character in ‘Heeramandi’.”

Amidst the trolling, Segal has emphasized the significance of the viewer’s perspective to her and has stated that she will not allow negativity to dominate her. Her co-stars such as Farida Jalal, Richa Chadha, and Aditi Rao Hydari have come out to speak in her defense amidst this row. Starring Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, and others, ‘Heeramandi’ is available to stream on Netflix.