Shilpa Shukla on doing fewer films post BA Pass: ‘I never did that project for the reason people assume’

Shilpa Shukla, who just appeared in web show Mentalhood, says she is used to spending time in isolation and doing her chores on her own.

Shilpa Shukla, the Chak De girl is back, and this time, in the role of a working mother in the web show, Mentalhood. The actor had delivered a powerful performance and one wonders why she is missing from action since her film, BA Pass.

Despite the nationwide lockdown which is keeping people confined to their homes, Shilpa is at peace as she claims she is used to spending time in isolation. In an interview with Hindustan Times, Shilpa opened up about her portrayal of a mother in Mentalhood, her onscreen fights and offscreen chemistry with Sandhya Mridul and her way of dealing with lockdown. Excerpts:

You played a working mother in Mentalhood. Were you able to identify with the character?

Yes, all the time. My best friend is a corporate woman and I have known her since school. She got married and is now having her second baby and she’s still a working mother. Most of my friends are working mothers. It’s very relatable. I think it is a very popular space to be in right now.

Tillotama Shome, Sandhya Mridul, Shilpa Shukla, Karisma Kapoor and Shruti Seth in a still from Mentalhood.

Sandhya Mridul says about you in the show ‘People who cannot give time to their kids, give them expensive gifts instead’. Do you justify that practice?

In my circle, I know people gift out of love for a person. I don’t think giving a gift is to prove something. Gifting is a culture that we had – for a way of sharing our love. We are a consumer market now and I am sure that’s why they are making so many toys and other things everyday as they must be catering to that mentality somewhere but maybe for themselves and not for gifting people.

Do you think working mothers are judged for their parenting skills like your character was judged on the show?

My mother is a housewife and so one is aware of both the sides. A mother is a creator and is always held accountable for things. It’s the nature of humankind all across. I also feel mothers are someone who not always retaliates to anything you say to her; that’s the unconditional love she has. She has the greatest power a human being can ever have.

You and Sandhya Mridul seem to be very close friends. You were at loggerheads on the show. How did that go?

It was so funny. Once we were doing a scene when we are fighting like cats with claws. We were doing that through dialogues. And between takes we were only laughing as we were so different in real life. Both of us are professionals and know what are characters are. But this is what brings strength to our characters on screen. I think since we were so fond of each other, we could portray our character so perfectly.

Are you in talks for the second season? Would you like to return with your character?

I am as clueless as you are about the second season. And if it is made, if I will not do then who will?

Why are you doing fewer shows, films these days?

When BA Pass came, it became a cult movie. But then everyone was offering me same kind of stuff. One never did that project for the reason that people assume it to be. One did it because the subject was very appealing.

Also, the film came in 2012. That time the market was in flux; they were exploring stuff. As it happened, when there was violence, there was too much violence and when they was sex, there was too much sex. The audience needs to filter it out. There would be many grades to it and we couldn’t cater to so many grades at the end of the day. After that, I made a comedy film Crazy Cukkad Family with Prakash Jha productions which didn’t work but was a brilliant film. It was just the opposite – a comedy.

I am a little selective about the projects I do. Then, people were still figuring out – what’s working and what’s not. But the times are changing now. People are accepting normal stories, they are more accepting to characters and stories.

What is your action plan during coronavirus lockdown?

People are calling it self-isolation but I have been used to it. On retreats, we anyways do everything on our own. We are used to being silent and many times we don’t even have our phones with us. It has not been so difficult for me. I have been reading and cooking. One is not working so the amount of food we eat has also gone down.

Author tweets @ruchik87

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