Then and now: A state of organised madness

Actor Shilpa Shetty unsure whether Bollywood has evolved for the better or for worse

NEW DELHI: While she does believe today’s actors are on top of their game and well-versed with the tricks of the trade, Shilpa Shetty also feels the Bollywood industry is now in a state of organised madness. On another note, she begs to differ with the perception that a female actor’s career ceases following motherhood.

“Today, actors do everything. They have learnt everything from their mother’s womb and then joined the industry. They are all professionals. We learnt everything on job, at least I did,” Shilpa said, who took the plunge into Indian cinema with the 1993 film, Baazigar. “I didn’t even go to an acting school. I learnt how to act and emote after my seventh film. I really don’t know how I sleep-walked through my first few films.”

Shilpa believes today’s heroes and heroines have upped the ante compared to when she started out as a newcomer. “Today, when I see old films of mine, I feel, ‘Oh God, what have I done’. Today’s girls are stylish, they have managers. We didn’t even have vanity vans when we started,” added the 41-year-old actor. “Today the whole scenario has changed – it’s still mad – but it’s organised madness.”

Stating that she does not agree with the fact that a woman’s career stops with motherhood, she added “I don’t know whose perception that was, because if you say that, then I don’t think Mala Sinha, Sharmila Tagore or Sridevi would have been doing films. Times have changed and it will continue to.”



Nevertheless, she admits that with age, actors get restricted to a certain type of roles. “I can’t play a college girl (at this age). You have to fit into the character of what is being offered to you. Same was even then (in earlier times). If Sharmilaji did a role, it was because it fit her persona. The same goes with today’s scenario,” shared the Dhadkan actor.  “Today, if Aishwarya, Kajol or Vidya are doing a film, they are not going to play teenyboppers, are they? You have to play age-appropriate roles and I think that’s very important,” she added.

After her marriage in late 2009, Shilpa has mainly featured in reality TV shows live entertainment shows and even turned film-producer with Dishkiyaoon. That apart, the fitness guru has been active as an entrepreneur who runs a spa and wellness chain too. For now, she will be seen as a judge alongside film-maker Anurag Basu and choreographer Geeta Kapur in Television show Super Dancer.

Asked whether she has found anything worthwhile for a Bollywood comeback, she mentioned, “Well, I am looking through a lot of scripts, but nothing has excited me yet. There are so many directors out there. There are so many new film-makers like Bejoy Nambiar and Ali Abbas Zafar. They are really wonderful.” According to her, the times when actors were looking towards films made by experienced directors is long gone. “These new directors are coming up with different scripts and they are really pushing the boundaries,” she concluded.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2016.

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