Actress fails to qualify after official throws her off her stride during a recent competition in Ahmedabad
Hiren Kotwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 21, 2019)

On Thursday night, Salman Khan tweeted, “Congrats on becoming aspiring shot yet again! Now thoda medal ko target karo (sic)”, tagging his Race 3 co-star, Daisy Shah. The actress, who made her debut in the actor’s Jai Ho (2014), received her license from the National Rifle Association of India this year, and when she’s not shooting for her films, she is brushing up on her shooting skills. Daisy, who has already succeeded twice in the Aspiration Shot category, is now aspiring to score in the Renowned Shot category.

Unfortunately, her dream to qualify for the Nationals and win a medal will have to wait till next year. “Given my practice, I’d hoped to score 575 to 580 points but a few minutes before the qualifying competition, I lost my focus,” admits the actress who took part in the Malvankar 50-meters Small Bore (.22 cartridge) competition in Ahmedabad recently. “One has to score 555 points out of 600 to qualify for the Nationals, which I missed out, though I bettered my score—from 497 to 531.”

What threw her off? “When you are shooting, you have to keep track of the target card. While some use a scope, I practised with a camera. A couple of minutes before the competition, the officer on duty told me I couldn’t use the camera. When asked why I wasn’t informed earlier, he shot back saying he wasn’t around then, but now, I’d have to follow rules. According to the rules, you’re not supposed to use a communication device. I got a lady official to confirm the camera didn’t breach the rules, but he was unreasonable and stuck to his guns,” she sighs, deteremined to put it behind her. “I can’t let such things affect my concentration. I have to practice more and there’s no excuse for losing focus of your goal.”

The actress is a licensed rifle shooter who has competed at the National level this year and is gearing up for another major competition next month
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 11, 2019)

The ‘Race’ may have ended but not Daisy Shah’s love for action, fuelled undoubtedly by her mentor-friend Salman Khan. A little over two years ago, she started learning rifle shooting and in May this year, she got her license from the National Rifle Association Of India. “It started off for fun with me accompanying some friends who were into shooting for practise. Prodded by them, when I gave it a try, they pronounced that I was a natural at it and should pursue it further. I did, got into the Nationals in May but didn’t win against contestants who had scored as high as 580 and 597 out of 600. Mine was 497 which wasn’t too bad and now I have my licence too,” exults the actress, going on to explain that with every shot that hits bullseye, you earn 10 points.

She rues the lack of practise, admitting she went into the competition with just two days of prep. She didn’t even get to try her shots in a 300-metre range as the biggest in Mumbai is 50 metres. “But now I have started training for the Point 22 rifle shooting competition in August under my coach Moraad Ali Khan, who is an Arjuna Awardee. I practice at the Maharashtra Rifle Association for at least two hours every day. This sport requires complete dedication and is very therapeutic. You have to have a blank mind when you shoot which is a kind of meditation too,” smiles Daisy who admits the heavy rifle was difficult to carry earlier but she has now got accustomed to its weight.

She points out that she looked convincing firing a gun in Race 3 because the sport had taught her how to unload a bullet, which you see in the film. “I’ll never lose touch with the sport, but at the same time I will always be an actress first,” she asserts.