Happiness for Shilpa Shetty can show up in the most unexpected and, in her words, ‘strange’ places. Dressed in a sophisticated monochrome ensemble, the actor wore a collar-neck vest with flowy pleated skirt, finished with metallic pointed pumps and minimal accessories, as she appeared for the Happpy AiR World 3Ps Happiness Summit 2026. Even after more than three decades in the film industry, she keeps returning to the idea of being present as she talks about being content. “Happiness is a state of mind, and that state of mind truly is in your hands. Most people are unhappy because they are not able to let go,” she says.
Her idea of being present does not mean pretending everything is fine. The difference lies in what she does after experiencing a hurt or a loss, as Shetty explains, “When I say I am a happy person, it doesn’t mean that I don’t feel pain or loss. Of course I feel that.” She adds, “But then you have to shift focus and bring it back to: okay, that’s my journey, that is meant to happen. And I am going to gain strength from it.”
A confessed foodie, Shetty, who is active in the restaurant business, with Bastian in the city, she speaks fondly of Bengaluru and its cuisine. “I’m an absolute foodie and a true Mangalurean. I love neer dosae. I even ordered Mysore pak,” she says. She also surprised many by revealing that she gave up chicken two years ago after a sudden calling on Janmashtami. Yet, her love for local cuisine remains intact.
At one point, Shetty also switched to Tulu, speaking with pride about its official language status in Karnataka, adding a personal note to her connection with the state. Coming to family, Shetty says she encourages her kids to have a voice, adopting a ‘horses-for-courses’ approach for a different generation. Still, boundaries remain clear. “I tell them, ‘I’m your best friend, but I’m your mother. Don’t cross the line,” she laughs. A 14-year-old son and six-year-old daughter keep life busy, but she has learnt to draw boundaries around her attention. When she is working, she wants to be fully at work. When she is home, she can ignore calls for a few hours and give her children her attention. She admits trying to accomplish everything at once left her unhappy. “Make a plan of action. Write your priorities down,” she advises.
Shetty also traces her positive outlook to growing up in a middle-class home, where her parents taught her to be happy with what she had. “I feel so much gratitude, and that’s my way of feeling happy. Even if something doesn’t go my way, I just give thanks to the Lord. They say, ‘Whatever is in your mind is good; whatever is not is even better. There are so many reasons for me to feel happy – good health, family. And I’m going to do everything in my capacity to keep that going,” she adds.
Talking about 10 years from now, Shetty gets a tad emotional as she says, “Life is so unpredictable. My dream is to see my children grow up into good human beings who have purpose in their lives and to open my own wellness space. But you can’t focus so entirely on one that you lose sight of the other,” she says smilingly adding a parallel dream of chilling on her farm and growing fresh fruits and vegetables.