Shilpa Shetty Kundra, who can currently be seen on the show, India's Got Talent, believes that she owes the fame and popularity she has continued to receive over the years to reality shows. “I’ve been working for over 29 years now. In these 29 years, I haven’t done films for a very long time now, but the love, fame and popularity that I have still received from the audience is thanks to television. When you do films, the audience recognizes you for your work as a character, but the love that I receive from people now is for being me and the personality that people see on reality shows. It is thanks to television that people got to know the real me. This is the reason I have been associated with TV shows, and while I try to strike a balance between the different roles that I play — from being a mother to managing my own projects — I try to do one reality show too,” says Shilpa.

The actress talks to us about her return to movies after 12 years, why she feels OTT can never replace the big screen experience and all that she’s learnt from her reality show stints.

Shilpa is keen to do more films this year — the big screen kind. “I believe that OTT cannot replace the charm of films. In the last few years, OTT has definitely given a lot of opportunities to actors and there has been an influx of content, but for me, doing films for the big screen will always remain special. I might start shooting another film this year, depending on what the pandemic situation will be,” she says.

The actress, who made a comeback to films after a hiatus of almost 12 years with Hungama 2 last year, is a tad disappointed that the film that was supposed to be her comeback film, Nikamma, is still awaiting its release date.

“I was going to make a comeback to films with a very different film, but that couldn’t happen and I couldn’t say no to Hungama 2 when it was offered to me, so everything changed. But I want to do more films this year, at least one film a year,” says Shilpa.

She adds that she decided to take a break from films as she wanted to focus on her own projects and also as a mom she needed to spend time with her children. “My son is nine now and is very busy with his school, while my daughter Samisha is two. So, I think I will be able to take up at least a film a year now,” says Shilpa.

After being a judge on a number of dance reality shows, it is for the first time that Shilpa is a part of a show like India's Got Talent, that focuses on different talent and skills from across the country. The actress says that she agreed to do the show because her son Viaan is a big fan. “I thought he would like watching meon the show,” says the actress.

The actress adds that being on reality shows has been a learning experience for her. “I get to know so many stories of struggle, talent and how people beat all odds to achieve what they aim for in life. I come from a middle-class family too and I have also seen some hardships. I relate to so many stories that I come across,” says Shilpa.

To all those who might feel that the contestants’ struggle and background narrative are sometimes mere props to garner TRPs, the actress says, “These contestants are characters of these reality shows and like in films, one needs a background to support the characters’ stories, even these shows need those kind of stories and emotions. To all those who think this is drama, well, some drama is supposed to be part of shows.”