Shreya Mukherjee (HINDUSTAN TIMES; December 2, 2019)

Shilpa Shirodkar sounds surprised and emotional when we mention that her film Gopi Kishan scores a good 25 today (on December 2). Talking about the film the actor says that she is taken back to those days, when she made many happy memories while working on the project. For Gopi Kishan (1994) is a film that’s “closest” to her heart, not only because it was a success that came early in her career, but also because people started recognising her for the role of Chanda.

“People still talk about the character when they speak to me so obviously there’s a feel good factor. As actors we work hard on a film and when it get recognized, that’s the bestest feeling in the world. Deepak Shivdasani was one of my favourite directors… None of us — Suniel [Shetty], Karisma Kapoor], Aruna [Irani] ji — were stars then, but just actors. So nobody behaved like a star. We all were putting our energy to make a good film…,” she says adding how everyone would look forward to the shoot given the fun they had while making the film. Though she does not remember a lot of what happened behind the scenes, but recollects that the storyline, dialogues and the interesting bunch of actors, made the experience entertaining.”

“I remember, while shooting, we prepared and delivered our dialogues following the ‘action’ and ‘cut’. And we would notice those sitting behind the monitor; the director and the people on the set would be in splits. As actors we wouldn’t understand how funny it was turning out, till we watched the final product. Making so many people laugh I guess is the best thing about the film,” Shilpa says, adding that she was proud for having done such a film, mentioning the emotional scenes that, too, came out well.

Is she still in touch with Suniel or Karisma? “Not really. We shared a good bond while working together and they will forever remain my colleagues and co-stars. I guess we all got busy in our lives, and there hasn’t been a moment when we picked up the phone and called each other to say, ‘Hey let’s catch up for coffee or a drink’,” adds the 50-year-old. On whether there are any plans of celebrating the 25 year mark, Shilpa answers in negative, saying that if it happens she would love to be a part of it.