Shefali Shah on working with Vidya Balan in Jalsa: 'She is an incredible actor, I don’t see myself in her league’

Shefali Shah, whose career in cinema and television spans almost two decades, is currently enjoying the spotlight with leads and parallel leads written for her. Her career saw a revival with filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan’s short film _Juice_ in 2017, followed by the 2018 film _Once Again_ . But it is her role as DCP Vartika Chaturvedi in International Emmy Award winning Netflix series Delhi Crime (2019) that turned the tables for the acclaimed actor completely. Further, the actress also drew applause for Kayoze Irani’s segment in the anthology film _Ajeeb Daastaans_ for the same streamer earlier this year and most recently she garnered a lot of praise for the web show and medical thriller _Human_ . Her next is _Jalsa_  alongside Vidya Balan. The drama thriller features Balan in the role of popular journalist Maya while Shah, plays Rukhsana, Maya’s cook and a woman with inner strength and conviction which gets tested pushing her to the end of her line. Excerpts from a chat with the actress: Jalsa looks intriguing and intense. The movie also seems to be a battle between the privileged and deprived… Jalsa is not just a thriller it is also a human drama. When I read the script, I was a part of it and when I saw the film it still surprised me. It is not just about conflict between characters it is also about each character’s conflict with themselves. It is so intriguing, it is so real and it is human. Anybody who watches Jalsa will say – ‘What if I was there in this situation’. It was mentally draining doing it and as a mother I wouldn’t wish this situation on anyone. My character is very layered, nuanced and complex. Rukhsana is a very human character. She falters, she is made to question her own beliefs, her own rights and wrongs because of what happens. Suresh (Triveni, Director) and I had a joke. After the first sequence of the film I used to go to him and say ‘barbad’ and he would repeat that (laughs). It took everything out of me emotionally. We had a very short schedule, we finished the film in 35 days and it was very intense, rapid and concentrated. You have often said that you don’t know how to act but you feel for the character… Actually, I don’t even feel for the character that I am playing but I feel like that person. I become that person and that is my quest as an actor. And that is why I say I don’t know how to act. It is because when I am in front of the camera I am that person. I don’t have a pattern to what I do. I don’t have a system or calculation behind it. I am very hard on the script, I chew the directors’ brain, etc., etc… but when the camera rolls I have no control on what I do. I just follow my gut, I am very impulsive and instinctive but by then I start becoming that person, whatever I am doing I am doing it as that person. But I do wonder sometimes what happens if one day my instinct and impulse stops working. [caption id=“attachment_10446281” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A still from Jalsa trailer[/caption] Was there any reference point in playing Rukhsana? Our staff and our help at home are always around us, you have seen them but Rukhsana is her own person. If I have three people working in my house, all three will be different. Of course, the way she looks and stuff that will be at a technical level which you do before. I don’t know if anyone has been in this situation that is shown in Jalsa, and I don’t ever wish for anyone to be in this situation. So, you can’t take a reference point for a character like that. You have to create a full-fledged character; it is not about replicating or trying to make a version of somebody else. How was it working with another powerful actor Vidya Balan? At any point of time was there a sense of insecurity and anxiety of getting overshadowed, or who will get more space? Look, I am being realistic about this. Vidya Balan is the most perfect and brilliant example of a very big star and an incredible actor, I don’t see myself in her league. I admire, respect Vidya so much and she is notches above. Suresh wanted two actors who could be at par and complement each other.

I genuinely feel that the more brilliant the actor is in front of me the richer I become, I feed off my co-stars. It is a treat to work with somebody like that.

That way I have anxiety every time…I am freaking out, ‘Oh God, how am I going to do this?! With Vidya, I admire her so much. I am so excited to be working with her. In 2021 you worked on six projects, what is the slate looking like in 2022? Is your diary chock-a-block full? How do you select scripts? It is not that a lot of work is coming to me but yes, I have gotten offered some scripts but they did not excite me. I am very choosy with my work and after the kind of projects that I did last year, I have become even more choosy. So, what I have done in most parts of my career, I have waited, I will wait again for something exciting to come. Last year it was chock-a-block but this year most of the time I am going to spend on promotions. Then of course, when I get something very exciting I will lap it up. There are three things that determine whether I am going to do a film or not. One is the script and the story. Second is the character and third is the director. [caption id=“attachment_10242281” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A still from web series Human[/caption] You have spoken about how you were not offered age-appropriate roles in the past, for instance you played Akshay Kumar’s mother when you were just about 30. Then, you have also played mother to Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Singh. Do you regret taking up such roles? No, I don’t have any regrets because at that point of time the person that I was I took decisions that suited me. I cannot sit here years later and question that. I don’t believe in looking back. What can be done about that now? At that point of time, I felt it was the right thing to do. You recently spoke about Bollywood’s obsession with stars. But now can you sense a change in the way the industry that had slotted you, is viewing you today? It is changing and the OTT has taken it to another level. With Delhi Crime, the industry suddenly realised that they can put me in the central character. The fact that I am sitting on the same stage as Vidya Balan and when Suresh Triveni is writing the script he wants Shefali Shah and Vidya Balan in the lead… Writers and directors are writing roles…they are looking at me as leads and parallel leads, so yes, it definitely is changing. Finally, I am doing the kind of work I always aspired to do. I did six projects last year. I haven’t done as much work in my entire career as I have in the last one year and all of those are great scripts, incredible directors, leads or parallel leads When I am voicing out something it is not that I am trying to make a point. I say things that come to me naturally and I say it because I don’t have filters and that is who I am. I am not complaining, a lot of the time what I have said and when it is put in print sounds very different and out of context. I am just talking about things that occur to me. [caption id=“attachment_9066351” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Shefali Shah as DCP Vartika Chaturvedi in Delhi Crime[/caption] There is a lot of buzz around Darlings with Alia Bhatt, then you have Dr G with Ayushmann Khurrana…you are working with a lot of young generation actors.. Darlings is a terrific script. It is a genre that I have never done before and it was something I was never offered before. It is funny, it is hilarious, it is a dark comedy, and it is a lot of things that I am as a person. It makes a very pertinent and relevant point but it is packaged in a way that on one hand it will drive home a point but at the same time it is not melodramatic. I am very excited. It was a treat working with Alia, Vijay (Sethupathi), Roshan Mathews, Vijay Varma…What a cast…again! Dr G was a commitment I made a long time ago. The script is very sweet, sensitive, endearing and funny but I am not playing a pivotal part or the main character, I am doing a guest appearance. But I am glad I did it. Is there any role, any character on your wish list? I am a very greedy actor, I want to do everything. But this year I have played a villain and I am doing a comedy; I am doing a human drama thriller and then of course there is Delhi Crime 2 and I have done a film called 3 Of Us with Jaideep Ahlawat which is like a Haiku, it is so delicate and beautiful. You made your directorial debut with a short film– _Happy Birthday Mummyji,_ any plans of directing a feature? I definitely want to direct a feature film but it is not likely to happen in the near future because I am focusing on acting as I am finally getting the kind of work I wanted to do as an actor and I want to enjoy that. Jalsa is produced by T-Series and Abundantia Entertainment, who earlier collaborated on films such as Sherni, Airlift and Baby. It releases on 18 March on Amazon Prime Video.  Seema Sinha is a Mumbai-based mainstream entertainment journalist who has been covering Bollywood and television industry for over two decades. Her forte is candid tell-all interviews, news reporting and newsbreaks, investigative journalism and more. She believes in dismissing what is gossipy, casual, frivolous and fluff. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.