I have always admired the work done by Shefali Shah and her eyes always have an intoxicating effect on me as they pierce right through. Throughout her career, Shefali has never shied away from taking on roles that were unconventional for her contemporaries to take, and that’s why there is a certain amount of credibility that comes when her name is associated with any project. Last year, she even divulged into direction with two short films and she has started 2022 on a high by portraying the grey character of Dr Gauri Nath in Human that has been receiving rave reviews.
Talking about her character, Shefali says,
“Gauri Nath pushed me completely out of my limits. She is someone I have never seen, met or heard of in real life and I don’t want to meet someone like her. She has been a very big risk I took. I always believed in the character, but she was written like a lioness and playing her like that would have been a safe bet. But I chose to play her like a deer who is soft, vulnerable, demure and fragile, which is unlike what was going on in her mind. It was a risk and I am glad I took it. But thank God I didn’t take her back home, otherwise it would have been risky for the people in my house.”
The actress shares that she shot for six projects last year, which includes working with some amazing Gen-Z actors like Alia Bhatt in Darlings and Ayushmann Khurrana and Rakul Preet Singh in Doctor G. As I ask her about the process of working that she observed in these actors and how they differed from hers, she has a very straight answer.
She insists,
“I see them on the set or for a couple of readings before that, so that cannot justify the whole process of where we land eventually. But there is dedication, fire and passion. All of them are giving actors who realize that filmmaking is not an individual but a cumulative process. It’s great working with these guys. Even my work pattern has changed since Delhi Crime. It was my learning curve.”
Discussing her upcoming projects, Shefali shares,
“There is this dark comedy Darlings. It’s a fantastic script, a genre that I have never done. Thank God that somebody could see me doing a comedy. It’s hilarious but it also talks about a very important subject. Then there is Doctor G followed by Jalsa with Suresh Triveni that also features Vidya Balan. I am in love with that script and I totally adore Vidya and Suresh. I love and admire Vidya so much. Thus I had been looking forward to working on Jalsa and it has turned out to be a very special ride. I have Delhi Crime 2 and I have also done another film with Avinash Arun, the National Award-winning director for Killa, which also stars Jaideep Ahlawat and Swanand Kirkire. Its working title is 3 Of Us.”
It’s always a delight to see Shefali bring any character alive on screen as she makes all of them her own, and she did the same in Human. With an amazing line up like this, I am really excited to see different facets of Shefali in 2022 and I am sure that she will never disappoint in any of them.