'Every age is great if you're happy and comfortable': Shefali Shah on 'ageism' in film industry

From essaying the role of a mother at the age of 21 to playing the challenging role of Vartika Chaturvedi in Delhi Crime, actress Shefali Shah has proved her mettle and convinced us that she still has more to give. Shefali is one of those actresses who never believed in the stereotypes of how an actress should be and further has aced the toughest of the roles in her career. It won’t be wrong to say that the actress has created her own space in the industry with a career spanning over two decades of brilliance. While Shefali is known for taking up challenging roles despite the stigma attached to them, she is also among the ones who time and again spoke up about the issue of ‘ageism’ in Bollywood. This time as well, the actress opened up on the age-old debate over ageism and strongly asserted that ’every age is great for people till they’re happy and comfortable’. In an exclusive interaction with Femina Magazine, the actress spoke on the same debate further noting that ‘ageism’ is no longer an issue in Bollywood or Hollywood. “Every age is a great age to be in. As far as you’re happy, you are comfortable, and you are valued. And more than that you value yourself. So age really, I know it’s very done to the death used statement, but it is a number. Whatever you are comfortable with at whatever time of your life. It’s great,” she said. Watch:

Her golden words did leave a lot of her followers inspired and impressed who took to the comment section and lauded her. Notably, this is not the first time that Shefali Shah has addressed the issue. Noting that she too faced the issue of ‘ageism’ where actresses in the industry don’t receive good roles after a certain age, Shefali had said, “Yes, ageism was a very prominent thing in our industry, and I have faced it myself. After I played the role of a mother at a very early age, people didn’t understand where to cast me. Also, actresses earlier had a very short shelf life of 18-22 years old. but things changed drastically for me.”