Shefali Shah On How Playing Akshay Kumar's Mother In A Film At 28 Shaped Her Career

"I've said no to work even if it meant sitting at home for two years not doing anything," said Shefali Shah

Shefali Shah, who starred in the International Emmy Award winning series Delhi Crime, in a recent interview with The Indian Express, opened up about how she said no to films after she asked to play characters of age when she was in her twenties. Shefali Shah, who played Akshay Kumar's mother at the age of 28 in the film Waqt, told Indian Express, "I played age very early. I played Akshay Kumar's mother when I was around 28. I got Hasratein when I was 20 and played a 30-35 year-old in it. After a point, I decided if I'm not getting the work that really drives me crazy, I will sit at home. I reached this peace that such kind of work won't come every day. And the few films I did raise that bar. I've said no to work even if it meant sitting at home for two years not doing anything."

The actress added how the OTT platforms have offered new opportunities and told The Indian Express, "OTT opened up that horizon with age appropriate roles, where a heroine didn't have an expiry date. Otherwise there was an 18-22 window of age. After that they didn't know what to do with the women. They either became accessories or were just a wall in the background. I've been working since I was 16. But my professional life changed by the time I reached my 40s. In fact it changed in the last two years after Delhi Crime."

Shefali Shah famously starred in Netflix's Delhi Crime, which won the best Drama Series at last year's International Emmys. She starred as DCP Vartika Chaturvedi in the show. In an interview with news agency PTI, Shefali Shah described the show as a "turning point" of her life. She said, "Delhi Crime is easily the turning point of my life, my career. It's been my learning curve. It has really changed things for me, even as a person. Just all of it together."