SHEFALI SHAH

SHARP, WITTY AND A CLASS APART BOTH ON SCREEN AND OFF, SHEFALI SHAH IS AS TALENTED AS THEY COME. IN A HEART-TO-HEART, HELLO! DISCOVERS HER LOVE FOR CRIME-THRILLERS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE, AS SHE ANIMATEDLY TALKS ABOUT THE EVOLVING CONTENT SPACE AND ALL THINGS 'DARLING' TO HER

- SHRADDHA CHOWDHURY

Dressed in a cobalt blue power suit, hair slicked back in a pony and eyes wide as ever, she greets HELLO! with a warm smile, ready to dive deep into a project close to her heart — although her smile falters as she spots an injury on this writer’s arm, proceeding to question her about her well-being, the brief time allotted for our chat on the backburner. That’s Shefali Shah for you. Kind, empathetic, witty, sharp — and a powerhouse of talent who never fails to impress on screen. In a forthright chat, HELLO! unearths Shefali’s views on the growing content space, “reaching her prime” in her 40s, women’s representation in cinema and the kind of impact her character in Delhi Crime has had on her.

Season 2 of Delhi Crime just dropped, and — as expected — viewers love the nuanced writing and acting. When you read the script, did you think you’d be able to top the kind of acclaim Season 1 received? It’d be entirely unfair to compare the two seasons. DC 1 and DC 2 can’t be in a race together! It’s one entity, but there are two different identities. They were both made with a lot of love, passion, obsession and hard work, but it was never about topping one. It was about making an individual show that was as strong and as good. I can proudly say we managed to do that (smiles).