Portraying a dual negative role, Sinha went all in. She had been waiting years to play a dark character, admitting that it was on her "bucket list" because her father, Shatrughan Sinha, famously began his career playing negative roles. Her husband, Zaheer Iqbal, jokingly admitted he found her performance "very scary," while her former co-star Akshay Kumar took to social media to praise her, writing, "Watching #Heeramandi, such a grand spectacle! Great going Sonakshi Sinha".
Roles focused on anchoring the emotional stakes for the male protagonist.
