Shefali Shah: said no to films after playing Akshay Kumar’s mom at 28 in 'Waqt'

Shefali Shah opened up about the lack of age-appropriate roles for women in Bollywood and how the digital space is opening up avenues for actors like her.

Shefali said she started refusing roles after she played the role of Akshay Kumar’s mother in 2005 film 'Waqt' when she was just 28 years old. She essayed the character of Sumitra Thakur, Amitabh Bachchan’s wife in the film, while Akshay had played the role of their son.

In an interview with The Indian Express, she said, "After a point, I decided if I’m not getting the work that really drives me crazy, I will sit at home. I reached this place that such kind of work won’t come every day. And the few films I did raised that bar. I’ve said no to work even if it meant sitting at home for two years not doing anything."

Speaking about the digital space, Shefali said, "OTT opened up that horizon with age-appropriate roles, where a heroine didn’t have an expiry date. Otherwise, there was an 18-22 window of age. After that, they didn’t know what to do with the women. They either became accessories or were just a wall in the background. I’ve been working since I was 16. But my professional life changed by the time I reached my 40s. In fact, it changed in the last two years after Delhi Crime.”

Shefali was lst seen in Netflix series 'Delhi Crime' which won the honour for Best Drama Series at the International Emmys last year. Shefali will also feature in 'Delhi Crime season 2'

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