In a city where everyone is hustling and determined to write their own success story, how about pausing and losing yourself in someone else’s story? That’s Shweta Tripathi’s advice for you. 

Over the past few months, the actor has been leaving books across Mumbai. Tucked inside each book is a handwritten note asking the stranger who discovers it to read it, enjoy it, and then leave it behind for someone else. A travelling book club, if you will.

When mid-day sat down with Tripathi, she said the idea was born from a simple thought — that people need to go back to reading in today’s age of information overload.

The actor reflected, “We’re constantly surrounded by other people’s opinions — what they’re thinking, eating, where they’re travelling, and so on. Reading is one of the few experiences where it’s just you and the book. It stretches your imagination, makes you question what’s right and wrong, and builds empathy because it allows you to experience lives completely different from your own.”

The seed for her public book-sharing initiative came after Tripathi read about actor Emma Watson leaving books around London as part of a reading movement. “I thought, why not adapt it? Whenever I travel in an Uber, I leave a book behind. If I’m at a café, an office, or an airport, I’ll leave one there with a handwritten note, asking the person who finds it to enjoy the book and then leave it somewhere else for another stranger. I love the thought of books travelling from one person to another, carrying not just stories, but moments of human connection,” she smiled.

Ironically, books weren’t always her first love. Growing up, she would be almost irritated by the reading culture at home. Finally, in her teens, a curious Tripathi picked up a book almost reluctantly. And then something happened. “It felt like I had discovered another universe,” she said, laughing. 

Soon, Nancy Drew books became an obsession. Then came The Da Vinci Code, followed by the Harry Potter series that she discovered when four books had already been released.

She recalled, “I still remember finishing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire [the fourth book in the series]. Until then, there was always another Harry Potter waiting. Suddenly there wasn’t. I felt like my world had collapsed. I kept thinking, ‘Where are Harry, Hermione, Fred, and George?’ That’s what books do. They become your friends.”

Today, her reading habit is almost ritualistic. She is usually reading two or three books at a time. “When I’m reading, I absorb the emotional world of the book. When I was reading Shoe Dog, I felt so charged. While filming Mirzapur, I was reading The Forest of Enchantments, and Sita’s strength stayed with me throughout the shoot.”

She has her family to thank for inculcating the habit of reading. Even now, her father’s voice echoes in her head. “Papa always asked me two questions. ‘Did you exercise today?’ and ‘Which book are you reading?’ Back then I found it annoying. Today I realize those are probably the two most important questions you can ask someone you love,” she smiled.

- ‘Cock’ 

- ‘Kim Ji-young, Born 1982’

- ‘Women who Read are Dangerous’

- ‘Independence’

- ‘Invisible Women’ by Caroline Criado Perez 

- ‘Wonder’ by RJ Palacio

- ‘My Friends’ by Fredrik Backman

- ‘Powerful’ by Nirupama Subramanian 

- ‘Scripting Bollywood’ by Anubha Yadav

- ‘The Palace of Illusions’ by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Students of NIFT Delhi were pleasantly surprised when one of their super seniors, Shweta Tripathi Sharma, visited the college with us recently. Requests of selfies and compliments like, ‘I am a big fan’, and ‘When is Mirzapur returning, Golu didi’, followed as the actress revisited all her favourite spots on the campus.

Shweta, who graduated in 2007 from the college in Fashion Communication, was nostalgic and excited to be back at her alma mater. “I am so happy to be back,” she told us while posing for selfies.

Shweta completed her first year in NIFT Hyderabad and got a transfer to Delhi later. “I was a safe rebel. Mujhe ghar se nikalna tha, explore karna tha. But I realised that Delhi is the fashion capital of India and I wanted to come back, so I transferred here. I used to think college Chale Jaise Hawayein Sanan Sanan (singing the song from Main Hoon Na) jaisa hota hai, but when I was completing assignments till 4 am, I realised it was serious work, and I started taking my work seriously. Time hi nahi tha kuch aur karne ka because otherwise, you would fail,” she said.

From working backstage to working at Femina and learning styling, writing, and photography, Shweta toldus that she has learnt a lot from her experience. “I would always work backstage kyunki usme sabse zyada paise milte thay. I remember working with Jesse Randhawa, she was super nice and tall, main chair par chadhke bronzer aur lotion lagati thi,” shared Shweta, adding, “When I was in the last year of NIFT, I told my father one day that I want to pursue theatre and acting. I have been on stage ever since I remember. Mere college ke paas acting workshop hoti thi, which was curated by Amal Allana, who was also the NSD Chairperson. I spoke to my dad, and he said, ‘as long as you are growing, sab theek hai’. I left that job, I joined a post-production studio, and during that time, I started my theatre company. I started auditioning, and then acting took over.”

The actress, who plays Golu Gupta in the series Mirzapur, said that the character is very close to her heart. “Aise characters milte nahi hain. I had auditioned for the part, but someone else was going to play Golu. I feel ki character, character pe likha hai actor ka naam. I love it when people call me Golu didi. It is out of love. Mujhe yaad hai main Noida mein shoot kar rahi thi and a guy stopped and said, ‘Golu didi’ and I was like ‘Yes, yes.’ Golu is also special because of what she has given me in terms of personal as well as professional growth. It was my first hoarding, usse pehle jo bhi tha woh kaafi independent cinema raha hai. Golu has taught me about fitness as well. I wanted ki jab main gun uthaun toh lagna chahiye ki yeh ladki gun utha sakti hai, waat laga sakti hai,” she said.