There is a certain warmth with which Himani Shivpuri speaks about Hyderabad, one that feels less like nostalgia and more like homecoming. Back in the city for a performance of her solo play Akeli, a work by Mannu Bhandari, as a part of Qadir Ali Baig Foundation’s Remembering Razia Baig series, the actor arrives not just with a production, but with memory, emotion, and a deeply personal connection to both theatre and the occasion.
“I love Hyderabad…I have come here so many times,” she begins, her voice lighting up as she goes on to recall, “There was a time when we used to be here in Hyderabad… staying at Banjara Hills, Punjagutta, doing so many films. Most of the films were being shot here. Hyderabad is like coming home.” The affection extends beyond work, into lived experiences. “I love Hyderabadi food, right from curd rice to biryani… and of course the shopping,” she adds with a smile.
Her return this time, however, is layered with meaning. The performance coincides with a deeply emotional remembrance within Hyderabad’s cultural landscape. Speaking about Razia, an iconic figure in the city’s theatre circuit, in whose memory the event is being held, Himani reflects not from familiarity, but from a place of emotional understanding. “Being a woman, I can understand… especially the love he (Mohammad Ali Baig) has for his mother. It’s so evident,” she says, drawing parallels with her own life. “Even if parents are not there, they are there with us. I’ve heard so much about Razia ji and her presence is so strong here that I feel she’s here. I have met her,” she shares.
It is perhaps this emotional undercurrent that makes Akeli feel especially fitting for the moment. The play, which she has both directed and performs, is rooted in the lives of women navigating solitude across different stages of life. “It’s about women in different stages. One is a middle-aged woman in a city… how she faces loneliness. The second is a woman in her sixties whose son has died, how she copes with that loss,” she explains.
Yet, what defines these stories is not grief, but resilience. She expresses, “We women are not weak. We don’t bow down or surrender to whatever life throws at them… they rise back and challenge it.” It is this strength that, for her, connects the play to Razia’s legacy. “She was also a very strong woman… the iconic figure of Hyderabad theatre. In a way, I’m paying tribute to her. I love strong women. I admire them,” she adds.
For the veteran actress, theatre has never been a detour, it has always been the core. Even as cinema and television brought her recognition — through memorable roles in films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Hero No 1, Raja, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and many more hits — her relationship with the stage remained unchanged. “I continue to do theatre because it is my first love. And we never forget our first love,” she says.
That same sincerity defines her approach to acting across mediums. “Every character that I have done, I have given it the best that I could give,” she says. Whether it is a brief appearance or a full-fledged role, Himani insists on depth. “I don’t want to be a wallpaper. The character has to have something,” she notes.
She acknowledges that success has, at times, led to typecasting — particularly after films Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Hero No 1. “I was inundated with Bua roles,” she admits. But even within repetition, she carved distinction. She adds, “Each one was different because every human being is different.”
Her upcoming work continues to explore grounded narratives — from a web series called Chaarpahi about women in underserved regions navigating the absence of basic infrastructure, to a film with Sanjay Mishra examining how children treat their parents in the present day.