Shefali Shah: Glad I stuck to my instinct

Itrsquos rare for actors to find roles that speak to them but not for Shefali Shah The actor who is reigning digital entertainment with directtoweb movies and series has bagged three nominations in this yearrsquos midday and Radio City Hitlist OTT Awards She reprised the role of Vartika Chaturvedi in Tanuj Choprarsquos Delhi Crime 2 The actor effortlessly played the sorrowful and helpless maid trying to seek justice for her daughter in Vidya Balanstarrer Jalsa Who can forget the quirky and quick on her feet Shamshunissa from DarlingsShefali Shah in JalsaThrilled to have had wonderful projects to her name in the year that went by she says ldquoI am glad I stuck to my instinct People have finally recognised that I could be playing the kind of roles that I am playing now and headline projects I feel grateful I wonrsquot say I am satisfied because I have a long way to go and I have just begunrdquo It is indeed time for Shah to reap the benefits of her hard work The actor believes that the projects turned out great because everyonemdashwriters and directorsmdashwere ldquoready to delve deeper into the human psycherdquo ldquoMy experience on all three films were extremely enriching I have to give it to the writers and directors who could finally envision me in these parts playing my age leading projects being a part of the primary ensemble cast and trust me with these kinds of characters I hadnrsquot done work like I did in Darlings or rather I havenrsquot been offered work like that so it was fun Working with these people in Jalsa has been inspiringrdquo says the actor adding that it was scary to return on screen as Vartika in the second instalment of Delhi Crime ldquoIt has become too largerdquo The first edition of Delhi Crime won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2020Delhi CrimeShah 49 is glad that storytellers are keen to depict reality and tell stories about women who do not necessarily fit into the age bracket of 18 to 22 ldquoIt feelsgratifying to see all the appreciation translating into workrdquo Ask her to pick her best work in 2022 and she is quick to say that she had special bond with the quirky woman of Darlings ldquoThere is a perception that I am a serious person but that has to do with the roles that I play In fact the character I come the closest tois Shamshunissa in Darlings I have a quirky wicked and funny side to me which was fun to bring out on screen The script was wellwritten and I love the genrerdquo says Shah who is thrilled to be acknowledged at the Hitlist OTT awards ldquoAwards are important because they are the recognition of appreciation It is something that will stay with you forever I will be lying if I say awards are not importantrdquoAlso Read THESE two shows of Shefali Shah topped the list of IMDb best of 2022 lsquoTop 10 TV SeriesrsquoCast your vote for the Hitlist OTT AwardsShefali Shah has been nominated in the Best Actor Female Series category for Netflixrsquos Delhi Crime Best Actor Female Film for Amazon Prime Videorsquos Jalsa and Best Supporting Actor Female Film for Netflixrsquos Darlings The other nominees areBest Actor Female Series Amruta Subhash Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt Ltd ZEE5 Fatima Sana Shaikh Modern Love Mumbai Amazon Prime Video Huma Qureshi Maharani S02 SonyLIV Masaba Gupta Masaba Masaba S02 Netflix Sakshi Tanwar Mai A Motherrsquos Rage Netflix Shriya Pilgaonkar The Broken News ZEE5 Shriya Pilgaonkar Guilty Minds Amazon Prime VideoBest Actor Female Film Alia Bhatt Darlings Netflix Deepika Padukone Gehraiyaan Amazon Prime Video Huma Qureshi Monica O My Darling Netflix Triptii Dimri Qala Netflix Vidya Balan Jalsa Amazon Prime VideoBest Supporting Actor Female Film Ananya Panday Gehraiyaan Amazon Prime Video Bhumi Pednekar Govinda Naam Mera Disney Hotstar Juhi Chawla Sharmaji Namkeen Amazon Prime Video Radhika Apte Monica O My Darling Netflix Swastika Mukherjee Qala NetflixThere are 16 categories that the public can vote in Log on to wwwradiocityinhitlistott to cast your vote Voting lines close on February 22