Daisy Shah shared a video on Instagram late Tuesday night after a fire broke out in a neighbouring building in Bandra East. The blaze gutted a flat in the same residential compound where she lives, and she alleged it was triggered by firecrackers during an election campaign.

Recounting the incident, Daisy said the fire broke out around 8.30 pm while she was at home. She said, “I was in my bedroom when I started hearing announcements on a loudspeaker. There was some prachar happening, which I was fine with as it is part of the election process. Soon after, I began hearing crackers continuously. When my dogs became uncomfortable, I went to the living room to close the window and saw sparks flying towards it.”

The actress pointed out that the situation escalated quickly. She said, “Our building and the adjacent one are part of the same compound and connected by a terrace. The distance between the two is barely 20 feet. I saw a spark fly towards the neighbouring flat, and within minutes, it turned into a fire inside the house. Initially, my mother thought it was just light reflecting, but soon she could clearly see something burning. I told her this was a fire. She rushed downstairs, alerted residents, and called the fire brigade. In the next 15 minutes, the entire house was on fire. It could have spread in any direction and could have gutted my home as well. I was shaking the entire night.”

She added, “The fire brigade arrived in about 45 minutes and took around an hour to douse the flames completely. By then, the entire flat was engulfed, but once they arrived, the fire brigade and police acted swiftly and handled the situation professionally.”

Fortunately, no residents were at home at the time of the incident. She said, “The son and his wife had gone to a wedding, and the wheelchair-bound uncle had stepped out. They did have pets. Five parrots, a large fish tank, and two cats. The cats managed to escape, but two out of five birds did not survive. Everything else was reduced to ash.”

In the video that Daisy shared on social media, she is seen asking whether anyone had contacted the fire brigade, which led to comments questioning why she did not do so herself. She clarified, “I did call the fire brigade. I tried multiple numbers, including the Kurla and Chembur stations, but the calls did not go through. I even have the call logs.”

She added that the impact continues, with the gas pipeline shut in both buildings and a power cut in the affected one. “Running an election campaign is fine, but the people hired need to be taught basic civic sense. This is not the first time firecrackers have caused such damage. This could have ended far worse,” she concluded.

Her decision to foray into television with Khatron Ke Khiladi 13 surprised many in the film industry. However, Daisy Shah isn’t one to be swayed by others’ opinions.

She says, “I don’t wish to clarify to anybody who is puzzled by my decision to take up a TV reality show. I wanted to be a part of Khatron Ke Khiladi because it allows me to challenge myself and acquire new skills in the process. It also gives me a wider audience to connect with. Most importantly, the experience will help me prepare for a project I’ll begin working on by the end of this year.”

Daisy says, “Besides, I am free for the next two months, so why not?” So, is she open to doing a fiction show on TV as well? “I am not the saas-bahu type at all. I am not cut out for it, I steer clear of drama,” she answers.

Though she has done several films in the South, Daisy came into the spotlight when she was launched in Bollywood as Salman Khan’s heroine in Jai Ho (2014). Despite the common perception that her career would skyrocket after making a big-ticket Hindi film debut, the pace slowed down.

She says, “If you ask me whether my career progressed the way I expected, the answer is no. But I have no complaints. I never thought I would become an actor, but I did. Everyone knows that I come from a dance background, and in gaining a foothold in the acting industry, my journey has only been upwards.”

Daisy aspires to be associated with unconventional subjects and performance-driven characters. She says, “I want to take up quality work. I don’t crave screen space; I want to play impactful characters. I have no idea why I haven’t been offered any so far. Maybe, I didn’t have the right team or probably wasn’t approached because I am still referred to as a Salman Khan camp girl. I don’t understand the conversations around camps and groups. Salman sir is friendly with everybody and so is Shah Rukh Khan. Since I am Salman sir’s protégée, he ensures I am given the kind of work I should be getting.”

Daisy Shah, a perennial animal lover, has always been vocal about the causes of the helpless creatures. But the actor believes in practising over preaching and is working hard to make her vision of opening an animal shelter come true. “Right now, I’m collecting the money for the foundation. Once I have gathered it, I will look for a place to build it. It is a long process. I’m going by my intuition,” Shah tells us and adds, “Although I don’t see it opening in the next three or four years, someday, I will open that foundation.”

Sharing what pushed her in this direction, the 37-year-old adds, “A lot of celebrities do talk about animal welfare but nobody pays heed to it. Hum kitna bolenge. At the end of the day, our word also goes in vain unless, you step on it and go out of your box and start doing something on your own,” she asserts.

With the animal shelter, she intends to use the funds earned from treating pet dogs, to help other strays. “I want to leave the foundation behind as a legacy. The concept is similar to that of the rich helping the underprivileged. We will provide treatment to elite dogs who come from good families, and the money that we get from there will be used for the well-being of the ones rescued,” she explains.

For the Race 3 (2018) actor, watching animals suffer is the hardest thing ever. “We, humans, are at the top of the food chain but are the cruelest and sadistic of all… And that’s when the universe steps in to take care of everybody,” she ends.

Daisy Shah has been utilising her social media following to help people in need by amplifying their requests for medical facilities amid the Coronavirus crisis. But, she is mighty miffed with some people trying to use the situation for their own interest, and being desperate to get a mention on a celebrity’s profile.

The actor had recently shared a series of Instagram stories, highlighting the same. “A lot of people have been sending requests. If a person is genuinely in need of something, they share the patient’s name, age, requirement etc. But I also get certain direct messages, saying ‘please help’. What sort of help do you want? Woh toh mention karo. Just because you want to see your name getting flashed on a celeb’s story?” she asks.

Shah asserts that people need to understand the current times are critical and hence, seriousness is paramount. “We actually want to help, but few people are like, ‘Celeb ki story pe apna naam aaya, woh chahiye apne ko’. This is not the time for all that,” the 36-year-old maintains.

That aside, Shah believes the pandemic has humbled everyone. “I’ve been making the most of this, and learnt a lot. The pandemic slowed down our lives. It taught us the importance of what life should be. You don’t need much to be happy. People have been surviving on dal chawal, they’d forgotten the difference between need and want. A person doesn’t need to get evil to get what they want,” she ends on a thoughtful note.

Daisy Shah, who spent her Christmas and New Year in Goa, is gearing up to get back to work soon. Talking about the year gone, she says, “The year 2020 has been bad for me, just like it was for many others. But I’m looking forward to a positive start in 2021. I hope things get back to normal, and we can resume work normally, and not with the fear of Coronavirus.”

During her time at home, the actress tried her hand at baking. Daisy shares that it was also a year of spiritual growth. “On the spiritual level, I’ve realised that there’s nothing more important than family. We were all confined at homes during the lockdown, and I’ve had conversations with my friends who were stuck all alone since they couldn’t go home. My family kept me sane. I tried my hand at baking and started making cookies and cakes,” she says.

The actress was excited to spend time with her friends during her recent Goa vacation. In fact, for most part of it, she stayed put in the hotel room with her buddies. “My friends were there, so I just decided to join them and spend time with them. They were shooting there, and since it was the festive season, it was great to spend it in Goa with them. I hardly stepped out of the room. I visited a few places like Calangute and Baga beaches, but I don’t like exploring much,” she says.

While 2020 had been slow, she’s excited to start shooting for her films in 2021. “I have two movies which have been confirmed. One is a murder thriller, and another one is a love story. I am looking forward to more work in 2021. I hope the movies that were supposed to begin in 2020 start in 2021. The movie I’m starting is supposed to be shot in London, but with the lockdown there there’s no clarity on shoot dates,” she says.

After her mega Bollywood launch opposite a superstar, Daisy Shah struggled to get a foothold in the industry .But it has been worth her while as she awaits the release of her next flick, the erotic thriller Hate Story 3. The girl has shed her inhibitions along with some kilos and has upped her glamour quotient and confidence to come into her own. By the actress' own admission, she was initially apprehensive about “kissing a stranger on screen“, but she effortlessly slipped into her new avatar. Excerpts:

You seem to have shed weight. We hear that Salman Khan lent you his trainer...
On the weighing scale, I have hardly lost four to five kilos, but I have lost a lot of inches. I have been working with Salman's trainer Rakesh since two years now, but this time around, he pushed me harder in terms of diet and workout.

How do you define your equation with Salman? Is he your 2 am friend?
I am fortunate enough to have that kind of access to him, but I won't take advantage of this fact. Salman can be a mentor, friend and Hitler, depending on the situation. He dons different roles for those he likes. But if I know he is sleeping at 2 am, I won't call him (laughs).

Was it difficult to portray a bold character in this film?
Anyone can pull off the girl-next-door role, but characters like these test your abilities. I was skeptical because I felt that I was not mentally ready and even my body wasn't ready to pull this off. To add to that, I had to kiss a stranger on screen. I convinced myself after seeking advice from my trusted ones. My cast and crew made me comfortable while enacting the bold scenes in the song. It was shot towards the end of the schedule, and it helped as my co-stars and I had bonded well by then. I was so engrossed in my character that I wasn't Daisy anymore.

So, are you more comfortable with your body now?
I was comfortable with it even in Jai Ho, as the role didn't require me to look svelte with toned abs and arms. Having said that, if I had that kind of a figure, it would have looked good. But it's never too late. I am a foodie and had to give up on junk food for five months and the results are showing. I second that abs are made in the kitchen and not at the gym.

How did your family react to your intimate scenes?
I hail from a progressive Gujarati family. In fact, my mother and I catch up on Hollywood films together. When I showed her the trailer of my movie, she felt that it was aesthetically shot. She said, 'We are all adults. And what else do you wear other than bra while dancing? So, where is the problem?'

Have you set any boundaries when it comes to boldness?
As seen in the trailer, Zareen (Khan) and I have gone all out. This is the zero point for me and one can't show anything beyond this. Bollywood has its own limitations. The era of drawing two flowers closer as a reference to lovemaking is passé. Today, you can't fake it and people keep it more real. We get to see such scenes in several other movies, but it's just that our film is termed an erotic thriller.

Jai Ho did not do well at box office. When you look back, what do you think went wrong?
I completely disagree. The movie, which was made on a budget of Rs 60 crore, did a business of Rs 126 crore solely in India. If we had hiked the ticket rate, the collection would have doubled. A film with the tagline 'People's man' can't burn a hole in the common man's pocket. But people, including critics, don't want to acknowledge certain things and get caught in the number game. It was my debut movie and I am proud of the fact that it crossed the Rs 100 cr mark. If Jai Ho is a flop, I want Hate Story 3 to do similar business and would like the critics to declare it a flop, too. If one movie of Salman is criticised, it won't affect his stature. But if newcomers are criticised, they get affected. They are ruining others' careers, which isn't right. They had to pinpoint at someone and unfortunately, I became an easy target. But they failed to understand that audiences didn't go to watch me, they went to see Salman Khan.

With your second film Hate Story 3 up for release, do you think your struggles are behind you now?
After Jai Ho, it was tough and I was struggling. I wasn't getting great offers. They thought I was fat in Jai Ho, but then the role didn't require me to be stick thin. However, if that was their assessment, then maybe I didn't work too hard and wasn't ready for a debut. I started my career as an assistant choreographer. In this industry, you get slotted in a particular category and people still have a mental block against me because I was an assistant choreographer. There are many actresses who think that the one who taught them dancing can't be competing with them. There is a fear of competition, which I think is required as long as it's healthy. But it's difficult to fight this stereotype mentality.

Do you relate with the movie's tagline 'Open Love Hidden Hate'?
I believe in open love and open hate. Pyaar karo, khule dil se karo, nafrat bhi karo toh khule dil se karo. Peeth peeche kuchh bhi na karo.