Directors Today Have Confidence In Me To Carry A Film: Shefali Shah

Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; March 12, 2022)

Outspoken, eloquent and dignified, Shefali Shah embodies the qualities that also represent her costar Vidya Balan in their upcoming film Jalsa, which is slated to release on Amazon Prime Video on March 18. In a chat with Bombay Times, Shefali talks about ageappropriate casting, the evolution of Hindi cinema and battling self-doubt despite being an actress with an impressive body of work. Excerpts:

Vidya Balan and you play parallel leads in your upcoming film Jalsa, directed by Suresh Triveni. What is it about this script that appealed to you?
Jalsa is about human conflict, not just with each other but an internal conflict too. It shows how one incident changes the lives of everyone around it. It sheds light on what people think they may do in a certain situation, their sense of morality and how it all starts changing because of the circumstances. I may sound pompous, but I genuinely believe that Jalsa is one of the best films I have seen.

Could you elaborate on the parallels drawn between Vidya Balan and your character? So far, all we know is that she plays a journalist and you are employed in her house as a cook.
Yes, Vidya plays a journalist and I work in her house. It’s not the most intimate relationship because they are distant from each other. If I tell you more, I risk giving away the story, but I can say that Jalsa is a drama-thriller and not just a thriller. Everyone will have a different take on it as art is subjective, but they will be compelled to think about what they would do if they are found in this situation.

What was it like to work with Vidya?
I not only admire Vidya’s work, but I admire her as a person as well. I was thrilled to know that I was going to collaborate with her. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of scenes together, but just sharing screen space with her was special. She is an amazing person — warm, caring and so giving. It’s always a pleasure to work with good actors because it only makes your work better.

Given your extensive body of work, what do you look for in a script at this point in your career?
I am finally getting lead roles and parallel leads and I want to stick to that. I am not saying that I will never be a part of an ensemble, but it needs to be something like Monsoon Wedding. When I read a script, it has to touch me and turn my world upside down. If it does that to me, I am going to say yes.

When an actor of your calibre says that they are finally getting lead roles after all these years, do you think it took you way longer to get here than you had anticipated?
Honestly, I had stopped anticipating or expecting because I didn’t think that it would go anywhere. It has taken me forever to reach here. However, I cannot complain. After Delhi Crime, things have changed. The last two years have been great. And it’s only going to get better for me.

For talented and deserving actors to get their due in this industry, what do you think needs to change?
The change is ongoing. Earlier, when we got narrations, there was a hero and a heroine and, in some way, we were all related to them. You could be a mother, chachi, sister or friend. They didn’t have individual full-fledged characters. Also, it was all very age-related. Today, that is changing. With OTT coming in, some of the best shows have been led by women, internationally. These female characters are complex, deep and nuanced. And most importantly, these are age-appropriate roles.

Speaking of the need for age-appropriate casting, leading men in their 50s still romance women in their 20s and 30s. Women, on the contrary, are often perceived as non-leads once they cross a certain age, aren’t they?
If the actors and actresses are choosing to play these roles, who are we to comment? Nobody is putting a gun to anyone’s head and forcing them to act with XYZ whatever the age gap. I have never had a problem playing a mother or a supporting role as long as it’s a full-fledged character. My issue is why define a character merely on the basis of his or her relationship with the leads? In the past, I have played mother to a person much older than me. But at this point, I want to say, listen, I don’t want to look younger than my age. I do have children who are 18 and 19, so I am comfortable playing a character like that. But I don’t want to play a mother to 25, 30 or 40-year-olds anymore.

Even the best of actors can be nervous or consumed by self-doubt. Does that happen to you as well?
Yes. Every time I go on a set or take up a project, I have this constant fear that the director will say action and I am going to stand there all dumbfounded. I always feel that I have taken up this project, but now what am I going to do? Strangely, this works very well for me. I am my biggest critic. I question myself. I am not easy to please. I never revisit my work. I never see the monitor when I am shooting because I know I will find faults and won’t like myself.