Shilpa Shetty Kundra looks back at 2023 with a smile. Why? It’s her 30th year as an actor. As someone who has stayed relevant over the decades, Kundra was appreciated for her role in Sukhee. “I felt it should have been a direct-to-OTT release. We make a lot of movies and garner love and fan following because of the characters. But the kind of appreciation I got for Sukhee was something I’d not received in all these years,” says the 48-year-old, whose career began with the thriller Baazigar in 1993.

Talking about reinventing herself, the actor says it’s more challenging to please the audience today: “When I started out, the audience was different, because the exposure was much lesser for us vis-à-vis the audience. They were easy to please. Today, we are exposed to the point of being trolled. So, you have to constantly be a people pleaser.”

Looking back at the highs of her career so far, Kundra adds, “I started off with a small role in a platinum jubilee hit, then evolved to being a mainstream heroine with Dhadkan (2002), reached the pinnacle of popularity with songs like Chura Ke Dil Mera (Main Khiladi Tu Anari; 1994) and Main Aayi Hoon UP Bihar Lootne (Shool; 1999)... Then came international fame, with winning Big Brother, shifting gears with films like Life... In A Metro (2007). These have been major milestones in my career so far.”