Shefali Shah on writing about her first divorce with Harsh Chhaya in memoir: ‘Nothing to really hide’

Shefali Shah reveals insights from her memoir, discussing her first marriage to Harsh Chhaya and the complexities of divorces.

Bollywood actor Shefali Shah rarely speaks about her personal life, but the actor recently opened up about it in The Audacity of Being, her memoir-in-essays. During a recent interaction, she spoke about writing about her first marriage and divorce from actor Harsh Chhaya, and her experience of watching a marriage fall apart.

Shefali Shah opens up on split with actor Harsh Chhaya.

'Nobody’s prepared for a divorce'

Speaking to The Indian Express, Shefali said, “I’m not naming anyone in the book. I’m not even getting into what happened or didn’t happen. I’m just talking about what happens on a general scale when people get married and nobody’s prepared for a divorce.”

'I’ve written about it very respectfully'

Shefali spoke about how people often enter marriage with “the idea of a happily-ever-after”, but when things do not go as planned, and the marriage does not work out, they have to deal with the reality of the relationship ending.

Asked about her decision to speak about her first marriage and divorce, and the candour with which she has written about her life, she said, “There was nothing to really hide about. I think I’ve written about it very respectfully. I’m just talking about any marriage falling off the brink. There’s an entire thing about when you realise your marriage is falling apart. So it’s, I think, about the failure of a relationship.”

Shefali was married to actor Harsh before the two parted ways. The couple got married in 1997 and divorced in 2001. She has largely kept details of the relationship private and has rarely spoken publicly about their marriage or divorce.

After her divorce, Shefali married filmmaker and producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah in 2000. The couple have two sons, Aryaman and Maurya. Shefali and Vipul have also worked together professionally, with Vipul producing some of the projects featuring the actor.

About Shefali Shah’s films and shows

Shefali Shah has established herself as one of the most acclaimed actors in Hindi cinema. She is known for projects such as Waqt: The Race Against Time, Dil Dhadakne Do, Jalsa and Darlings. She also earned widespread recognition for her role as DCP Vartika Chaturvedi in the Netflix crime drama Delhi Crime. The show won her an International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series.

She was last seen on the big screen in the 2023 film Three Of Us with Jaideep Ahlawat. She also played a doctor in the web series Human.