Actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra has been a judge on the kids’ dance reality show, Super Dancer, for four seasons now. But, ever since her husband, Raj Kundra, got arrested on July 20 for his alleged involvement in creating and publishing porn films, she has been away from the show. And, her co-judge, filmmaker Anurag Basu, admits she’s dearly missed.

“We miss Shilpa a lot on set. There is a bonding between all of us, including people behind the scene and the choreographers. We are a small family. When one person isn’t around, bahut mushkil hota hai,” he tells us.

In Shetty’s absence, a number of actors have joined Basu and choreographer Geeta Kapoor, on the judges panel. But, the 51-year-old, who has also worked with Shetty in Life In A... Metro (2007), has no idea when she’d resume shoot. “I had sent her a message asking, ‘When are you coming back’, but I got no reply. I don’t know what’s happening. Let’s hope (she returns) soon,” he adds.

However, with or without Shetty, work continues for Basu. He recently got nominated in the best director category at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne for Ludo (2020), which had an OTT release. “I’ll not be modest at all, awards really matter to me. I look forward to nominations and awards. It didn’t matter when I didn’t get any, but the moment I started getting awards, they started to matter. Now, whatever awards are happening digitally, I tell them to share the trophies with me. I like them, it gives you a little more confidence and drives you every time,” he concludes.

Shilpa Shetty Kundra took part in a Coronavirus fundraiser, We For India, on Sunday, making her first social media appearance after her husband Raj Kundra’s arrest, last month. She demonstrated breathing exercises and spoke about overcoming negative thoughts: “...Positive rehne ke liye apni breathing ko sahi karne ke liye, aaj ke time mein pranayam pehle se bhi zyada zaroori ho gaya hai.”