Industry has realized I can play central character: Shefali Shah
Her recent script choices have helped directors see her in a different light, says Shefali Shah, who believes the industry has now started trusting her with headlining projects, which wasn't the case earlier. After a lull around the mid-2010s, Shefali, whose career in television and cinema spans almost two decades, saw a revival with filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan's short film Juice in 2017.
Shefali has given some acclaimed performances in recent years
She followed it up with consecutive acclaimed performances, starting with the 2018 film Once Again, the Emmy Award-winning Netflix series Delhi Crime (2019), and Kayoze Irani's segment in the anthology film Ajeeb Daastaans for Netflix earlier this year.
'Juice,' 'Once Again,' 'Delhi Crime,' are my turning points: Shefali
Shefali said that she can sense a change in the way the industry, which had once slotted her in mother roles, is viewing her today. "The OTT has taken it up to another level. Juice, Once Again and Delhi Crime are my turning points. With Delhi Crime, the industry suddenly realized that they can put me in the central character," she added.
'Surprised to be placed as lead in a romantic drama'
Citing the example of Ajeeb Daastaans, in which she played a woman who finds love outside her marriage, the National Award winner said she was surprised by the way actor-director Kayoze Irani placed her— putting her in spotlight as the lead of a romantic drama.
She debuted in 1990s with Doordarshan's serial 'Aarohan'
Shefali said, "If in my 40s, people can see me doing leads, carrying projects on my shoulders, being one of the primary characters, it's great." She made her acting debut in the 1990s with the Doordarshan serial Aarohan and went on to star in shows like Hasratein and Banegi Apni Baat in the decade.
Shefali also went through a lull in her career
Though she was always acknowledged as a fine actor right from her breakthrough role in Ram Gopal Varma's 1998 film Satya and later in Mira Nair's movie Monsoon Wedding, the actor went through a frustrating period when exciting work didn't come her way.
She was typecast as mother with her role in 'Waqt'
With the movie Waqt (2005), in which she played Akshay Kumar's mother, Shefali was typecast as a mother and her appearances in films like Gandhi, My Father and Kucch Luv Jaisaa also didn't do much for her career. Her only big success in the last decade was Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadakne Do, in which she played a woman in an unhappy marriage.
'People appreciated my roles but it never translated into work'
"For some time, that phase did frustrate me. It got worse because people appreciated what I did, but it never got translated into work," Shefali said. "I understood the kind of work I want to do will come rarely. If it means I've to sit at home, that's fine. But I won't take up work because I want to do a job," she added.
Shefali is extremely busy on the work front
In retrospect, Shefali said that she is happy she turned down "a lot of films" and chose only those scripts that connected with her. She currently has three projects in the pipeline - medical thriller web series Human, Shah Rukh Khan's home production film Darlings, co-starring Alia Bhatt, Ayushmann Khurrana-headlined comedy feature Doctor G, and the second season of Delhi Crime.
