Shefali Shah finds Bollywood’s obsession with stars very annoying: ‘What happens to talent?’

Shefali Shah has her plate full as an art. The actor, who marked her debut as a filmmaker and turned an entrepreneur in 2021, has some amazing projects in her kitty, including Alia Bhatt‘s production venture Darlings and Ayushmannn Khurrana’s Doctor G. In a chat with Kusha Kapila, Prajakta Koli, Neelam Kothari Soni, Masaba Gupta, Mrunal Thakur and Swastika Mukherjee for Film Companion, however, Shefali underlined the need for people in the industry to ‘own up to their words’.
“I think the ability for people, particularly in cinema, to stick to their word. They will say you are very good but it does not translate to nothing. So, don’t just tell me I am good,” she said as she narrated a loop of conversation that she feels stuck in.
Shefali enacted the conversation and said people come and tell her that they want to work with her. “Then nothing happens. Then they will see you at the next party and say exactly the same thing. It’s really boring,” she continued.

Another thing that she feels has not changed about Bollywood is its obsession with stars. “The preference of a star is very annoying now, because I think we finally have woken up and understood that you just need to be an actor. I am glad we had OTT breaking that for us, for me, but still, there is this thing of ‘But star hona chahiye na.’ So, what happens to talent? I am talking about everyone. You’re just repeating the same people over and over again. Give credit where it is due. I wish that changes. I don’t see that drastic a shift yet in cinema,” she said.
Shefali, who directed and also featured in two short films – Happy Birthday Mummyji and Someday, spoke about her ambition to direct a feature film one day. She said she “would definitely want to direct” and called it a very “addictive” process. However, she concluded that her husband and filmmaker Vipul Shah wants her to enjoy the new phase as an actor.

“I enjoyed every bit of directing. But I also know the kind of prep I put into it. Like for a 14 mins short film, I put almost like three months of prep. So, when I will get down to do a film, I know I will take a lot more time. And right now, Vipul says, ‘You’ve just about become an actor. Enjoy that. Don’t take off.’”
Earlier this month, Shefali announced her next project, Jalsa. The film stars her with Vidya Balan.