Shefali Shah is done playing nice. After returning as Vartika Chaturvedi in Delhi Crime 3, the powerhouse actor talks about fear, fire, and how female actors are finally getting their due. In this conversation, she opens up about ageing, why Vartika feels like an extension of her DNA, and how honesty is one thing that remains non-negotiable for her.
Meeting your iconic character, Vartika Chaturvedi, for the third time in Delhi Crime 3—does it get easier, or is it just as difficult as when you first encountered her?
I have this fear with any character I play that I don’t know what to do. With Vartika, there was a bit of stress because the character had become larger than life. She’s become almost iconic. I was terrified, scared, thinking that I managed in the first and second season—what if I don’t know what to do the third time? There was fear, but once you get to the set, change into the character’s look, there is a sudden metamorphosis, and I am no longer Shefali. I think our DNA is kind of married into each other—she is me, and I am her. But I feel Vartika, as a person, knows herself much better than I do.
You said Vartika and you share the same DNA.
She is very close to who I am as a person. We share a lot of similarities. She is intensely passionate, so she feels everything in magnitude. The difference between Vartika and me is that she will hold back, while I won’t—whether the pain or the anger. The other part I like to believe is that I’m a righteous person, and so is she. She fiercely wants to protect what she loves, which means her city, her country, every single person around. She’s brutally honest, which I am; my husband (Vipul Shah) sometimes says, “Don’t shoot your mouth off.” Vartika is also obsessive, which I am. When I pick up one thing, I am focused on just that. So I think all of that is very similar. Vartika knows which arms to twist and how, and to what magnitude. I still haven’t gotten there. I don’t know how to do it.
Delhi Crime has always been a commentary on the police force and challenges facing society. How do you navigate a narrative so gripping?
As far as authenticity is concerned, Delhi Crime 1 set that standard. This show is raw, real. Season 1 was like a documentary drama, Season 2 was inspired by a true case, while in Season 3, one side is so high-octane and the other side of it—the cop team—is a raw, gritty, and grounded part of Delhi Crime, which remains unchanged, since that is the beauty and USP of the show. Yes, it’s true, Vartika no longer has the bravado, which I think is lovely, but I didn’t know how it was going to land. A lot of time, and I’m not questioning the audience’s intelligence, because they are far more intelligent and sensitive than we can imagine, but it’s easy to think that screaming, shouting, raving, ranting, crying, histrionics is a good performance. So to drop all of that and choose to do what I did, I didn’t know whether it was going to work. She’s carrying a lot of baggage from the past, but what hasn’t changed is her commitment to work. So it was all about her struggle with the need to get justice, and not having the luxury of time to wallow in pain or anger. She’s channelising this into solving a case. But, being her, she is defiant, stubborn, and will do her own thing.
You have been vocal about ageism in the industry and the need for better narratives for women actors. Do you see a perceptible shift?
I got offered Delhi Crime when I was in my 40s. Some years ago, if somebody had told me that you are going to play a lead and headline a project in your 40s, I would have said, “Yeah, right”! But I see it’s happening, and it is a big change. I remember when the first season dropped, many of my counterparts quoted it as a case in point, saying this was just what we needed to happen, and would love to do something like this. Which says a lot. There are so many women today playing magnificent, complicated, complex characters, which is empowering, and the audience wants to watch these stories. I’m so glad it’s happening. Stories around women haven’t been told for decades, and there’s a lot to tell.
After three decades in the industry, what’s the one thing that remains unchanged—what remains non-negotiable?
Honesty is non-negotiable. And I will not shut up because you are someone I have to listen to. Either you convince me, or I’ll convince you. Thank God there are directors and producers who believe that actors are not just actors, that they’re collaborators. So that is a big part of it, because I don’t want to work with a Hitler. I don’t want to do that anymore. So that is a non-negotiable part of it. Honesty is something I don’t compromise on.