Shilpa Shetty Kundra is all set to play the first female cop in Rohit Shetty’s testosterone-driven cop universe. She will take on the role of no-nonsense badass cop Tara Shetty in Indian Police Force, which marks the filmmaker’s digital debut.
The actor is happy that for once she is getting to play a character who is not limited by her gender. “I always wondered how this character was so masculine, and the only feminine aspect of her is her looks. She is tough and gritty. Women, when they face indignity, don’t come to blows, it is more restrained, and my character is like that,” says the actress. “I loved the fact that Rohit treated the character without any gender bias; kudos to him,” she adds.
Revealing that Rohit Shetty and she were to collaborate on the comic caper Golmaal 14 years ago, but things hadn’t gone as planned, Shilpa said this opportunity seemed too hard to resist. “Rohit takes cinematic liberty and gives the audience their money’s worth. He is aspirational, and that is how I also approach my work. You have to play a part and make it worthwhile for the audience to invest their time and money in you. It’s a very 90’s thing,” she says, adding, “Acting is great, but you need to bring that star quality.”
The charisma of stars, and their ‘stardom’ as one knew it, is a thing of the past. It’s now about airport, gym and shopping looks and invitations from stars’ PR teams to chronicle their every move, says Shilpa. She admits some enjoy it and some still retain that mysterious ‘X’ factor.
“The time we come from was gold, but I am not taking away from what the younger lot brings to the table. As actors, we (including me) are all stretching ourselves too thin. Personally, I’m on various mediums, trying to woo audiences, and I guess that’s just the way to be. We are also inviting more people to be privy to our personal lives, which is a marked difference between then and now. The whole aura of a ‘star’ has gone,” says Shilpa.
So, what’s the one trend the social media-savvy Shilpa Shetty Kundra cannot wrap her head around?
“It’s the obsession with selfies,” comes the answer. “No one asks for a picture; they thrust themselves at you. On the flip side, I haven’t mastered the art of a selfie,” she says with a laugh.
After making her debut opposite Shahrukh Khan in Baazigar in 1993, Shilpa went on to be beset by several career fluctuations. She had blockbusters and song-and-dance routines. Once called the Chura Ke Dil Mera girl, her career breakthrough came with films such as Dhadkan (2000), and Phir Milenge in 2004. Confessing to paying the price for looking a certain way, she says her talent was undermined because of her glamorous image. The 48-year-old actor was recently seen in Sukhi, a film which charts a woman’s quest for identity.
Shilpa says she is conscious about the kind of content she is using her name to promote. Having been a mass heroine, the actor says she never loses sight of that aspect.
“They always preferred to show me doing a song and dance number and typecast me rather than give me a meatier part. Though I got a Dhadkan and A Life In A Metro, I became choosey, and the offers started drying up. But today it’s a great time, there are more and stronger parts being written for women. Also, filmmakers have the guts and the budgets to make female-oriented films,” she says, but clarifies, “I am not always looking for female-oriented films, I feel that would be a tad boring. I am an entertainer and will do it in whatever capacity.”
Shilpa Shetty Kundra, mom of two, son Vihaan and daughter Samisha, balances work and motherhood, stating, “The rest takes care of itself in life.” She will next be seen in the Kannada film KD — The Devil, opposite Sanjay Dutt and Dhruva Sarja.
“No one asks for a picture; they thrust themselves at you. On the flip side, I haven’t mastered the art of a selfie,” SHILPA SHETTY says with a laugh.
