Who is Bela Segal? Sanjay Leela Bhansali's sister and Sharmin's mother

Sharmin Segal, who plays Alamzeb in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's debut Netflix India show Heeramandi, is the daughter of his sister Bela Segal.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's niece Sharmin Segal has been getting a lot of attention for her role of Alamzeb in his debut Netflix India show, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. And not for all the right reasons. But did you know that her mother and Sanjay's sister, Bela Segal, is also a filmmaker and editor? (Also Read – Sanjay Leela Bhansali opens up on Sharmin Segal's performance in Heeramandi: She kept saying ‘Mama, I’ll underplay')

Bela Segal is the sister of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and mother of Sharmin Segal

Acclaimed editor

Bela Segal started her film career almost the same time as her brother Sanjay. She served as the editor in several of Sanjay's early films, including his directorial debut Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Devdas (2002), Black (2005), and Saawariya (2007).

Directorial debut

Bela made her directorial debut in 2012 with Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi, a romantic comedy film starring Boman Irani and Farah Khan, in the latter's acting debut. The film was set in the Parsi community of South Mumbai and revolved around two 40-year-plus-old Parsis falling in love.

Married into Segal family

Bela is married into a film family. Her husband, Deepak Segal, is the Head of Content at Applause Entertainment, a production house headed by Sameer Nair. It made inroads into Bollywood by co-producing Black with Bhansali Productions. Resurrecting its film production business last year, Applause Entertainment backed Zwigato, Do Aur Do Pyaar and the upcoming film, The Rapist. It's also produced shows like Mind the Malhotras, Criminal Justice, The Office (Indian adaptation), Scam 1992, Taj: Divided by Blood, and the upcoming series on Gandhi.

Bela's father-in-law, Mohan Segal, was also an acclaimed filmmaker. He is best known for introducing veteran actor Rekha to the Hindi film audience through his 1970 directorial, Sawan Bhadon.

Bela's Instagram profile

Bela is a dog lover and keeps sharing pictures of her various pets on her Instagram handle. She also shares pictures with Sanjay and their mother, Leela Bhansali. She also keeps a vivid account of her daughter Sharmin's life and career, capturing everything from her childhood, college graduation, film debut to her latest streaming debut in Heeramandi.