Shefali Shah is a renowned Indian actress who got into the limelight for her work in films like ‘Waqt: The Race Against Time’ (2005), ‘Gandhi, My Father’ (2007), ‘Happy Birthday Mummyji’ (2021), and ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ (2015). Shefali Shah’s Netflix collaboration with the series ‘Delhi Crime’ (2019) has been the highlight of her career.
Wiki/Biography
Shefali Shah was born as Shefali Shetty on Tuesday, 22 May 1973 (age 50 years as of 2023) in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. Her zodiac sign is Gemini. She completed her schooling at the Arya Vidya Mandir Institute of Early Childhood Education in Santacruz. Shefali pursued her graduation in science from Chauhan Institute of Science (Mithibai College), Vile Parle. She is currently settled in Mumbai.
Shefali Shah’s childhood photo
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 6″
Weight (approx.): 60 kg
Hair Colour: Natural Black
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Body Measurements (approx.): 36-32-34
Family
Parents & Siblings
Shefali Shah’s father, Sudhakar Shetty, is a Mangalorean and a former Reserve Bank of India employee. Her mother, Shobha Shetty, is a Gujarati and a homoeopathy doctor. Shefali Shah is the only child of her parents.
Shefali Shah (centre) with her parents
Shefali Shah’s mother, Shobha Shetty (left), and father, Sudhakar Shetty (right)
Husband & Children
Shefali Shah got married to Indian actor, Harsh Chhaya, in 1994; however, the couple got divorced in 2000. Shefali got married to the Indian film producer and director, Vipul Amrutlal Shah on 11 December 2000.
Shefali Shah and Vipul Amrutlal Shah (left) at their wedding ceremony in 2000
The couple later got blessed with two sons, Aryaman, and Maurya.
(Left to right) Aryaman Shah, Vipul Amrutlal Shah, Shefali Shah, Maurya Shah
Religion
Shefali Shah follows Hinduism.
Shefali Shah performing Diwali Pooja with her husband, Vipul Amrutlal Shah
Career
Television Serials
Shefali Shah made her TV serial debut in 1993 with Zee TV’s ‘Campus.’ The serial revolved around the life of college students and their experiences in love, relationships, and politics.
1993 :: TV Serial ‘Campus’ Begins On ZEE TV.
It Was Based On Student Politics In College Campus pic.twitter.com/pKec9BrzvB
— indianhistorypics (@IndiaHistorypic) June 9, 2021
In 1993, Shefali Shah was cast in Zee TV’s ‘Tara’ which was the first Indian TV serial based on contemporary urban women. Shefali Shah played the character of Mala. This serial was the first Hindi-language TV serial that was broadcast on television for five years. In the same year, Shefali Shah starred in Zee TV’s ‘Banegi Apni Baat.’ It was a drama series based on college students and their campus life experiences in which Shefali Shah played the character of Richa.
Shefali Shah in a still from her TV serial ‘Banegi Apni Baat’
In 1993, Shefali Shah was cast in Doordarshan’s ‘Naya Nukkad’ which was the second season of Doordarshan’s ‘Nukkad.’ The show showcased financially poor and economically backward people struggling to make a living in the metropolitan cities. In 1996, Shefali starred in DD National’s ‘Aarohan.’ The story revolves around women joining the Indian Navy in times when it was not normal for females to work. Shefali Shah played the character of Cadet Nivedita Sen in this 13-episode TV series.
Shefali Shah in a still from her TV serial ‘Aarohan’
In 1997, Shefali Shah was cast in Zee TV’s ‘Hasratein.’ She replaced Seema Kapoor after 126 episodes and played the role of Savi. The TV serial was primarily about the growing rate of extramarital affairs. The serial was based on the Marathi novel ‘Adhantari’ written by Jayvant Dalvi.
Bollywood
In 1995, Shefali Shah made her debut with Ram Gopal Varma’s romantic-comedy film ‘Rangeela.’ Shefali Shah made a special appearance in the film as Mala Malhotra. The film was a huge success and received 14 nominations at the 41st Filmfare Awards. In 1998, Shefali Shah starred in Ram Gopal Varma’s crime film ‘Satya.’ The film was written by Anurag Kashyap and Saurabh Shukla. The film showcases the dark life of the Mumbai underworld in which Shefali Shah plays the character of Pyari Mhatre, the wife of a gangster.
Shefali Shah in a still from her breakthrough film ‘Satya’
In 2001, Shefali Shah starred in a comedy-drama film ‘Monsoon Wedding.’ She played the character of a child sexual abuse survivor, Rhea Verma. The film was a huge success and received the ‘Golden Lion’ (the highest price given to a film at Venice International Film Festival) at the 58th annual Venice International Film Festival.
Shefali Shah in a still from her award-winning comedy-drama film ‘Monsoon Wedding’
In 2005, Shefali Shah starred in ‘Waqt: The Race Against Time,’ which was produced and directed by Shefali’s husband, Vipul Amrutlal Shah. Shefali played the character of Amitabh Bachchan‘s wife, Sumitra Thakur. The film did well at the box office and even grabbed a lot of awards.
Shefali Shah in a still from her award-winning film ‘Waqt- The Race Against Time’
In 2007, Shefali Shah was cast in the biographical drama film ‘Gandhi, My Father.’ The film was about the life and struggles of Mahatma Gandhi. The film was produced by Anil Kapoor and Shefali Shah played the character of Kasturba Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi’s wife). The film won numerous awards including National Film Award and Zee Cine Awards.
Shefali Shah in a still from her biographical drama film ‘Gandhi, My Father,’ in which she played the character of Kasturba Gandhi
Shefali Shah receiving the national award for her film ‘Gandhi, My Father’ from the then president, Pratibha Patil
In 2015, Shefali Shah was seen in Zoya Akhtar‘s comedy-drama film ‘Dil Dhadakne Do.’ Shefali played the character of Anil Kapoor’s wife, Neelam Kamal Mehra. Shefali Shah won many awards for her acting in the film.
Shefali Shah in a still from her superhit film ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’
Web Series
In 2018, Shefali Shah in collaboration with Netflix, starred in the romantic-drama film ‘Once Again.’ The film was also released in Germany by Arsenalfilm and France as the director of the film, Kanwal Sethi, is an Indian-German. The film was a love story of a famous actor and a restaurateur in which Shefali Shah played the character of Tara Shetty.
Shefali Shah in a still from her Netflix collaboration film ‘Once Again’
In 2019, Shefali Shah collaborated again with Netflix for the project ‘Delhi Crime.’ The series was based on the aftermath of the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder case, also known as the ‘Nirbhaya Case.’ Shefali Shah played the role of DCP Vartika Chaturvedi and won many awards for her acting in this Netflix series. In 2020, ‘Delhi Crime’ won the award for Best Drama Series at the 48th International Emmys Awards.
Shefali Shah in a still from her web series ‘Delhi Crime’
In 2022, Shefali Shah starred in Netflix’s dark comedy film ‘Darlings’ which was produced by Alia Bhat. The film was based on domestic abuse and Shefali Shah played the role of Shamshunissa.
Shefali Shah (right) in a still from her Netflix film ‘Darlings’
In 2022, Shefali Shah was cast in Disney+ Hotstar’s medical thriller series ‘Human’ which was directed by the actor’s husband, Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The series was based on the medical scams happening across the world and Shefali played the role of Dr. Gauri Nath.
Shefali Shah in a still from her Disney+ Hotstar series ‘Human’
In 2022, Shefali was cast in Amazon Prime Video’s thriller film ‘Jalsa.’ The film was produced by T-Series and Shefali played the role of Rukhsana Mohammad. Shefali was praised by the critics for her performance in the film along with actress Vidya Balan.
Shefali Shah in a still from her Amazon Prime Video’s film ‘Jalsa’
Controversies
Shefali Shah Faced Discrimination From In-Laws
In 2022. Shefali Shah recalled the times when she faced sexism from her in-laws with respect to her being a working woman. According to Shefali, her mother-in-law used to question her whenever she used to go out for her film shoot. Shefali’s husband, Vipul, being in the same industry never faced anything in his family; however, she had to go through the same on a daily basis.
Awards, Honours, Achievements
- In 1997, Shefali Shah won the Zee Woman of the Year Award for her performance in Zee TV’s drama series ‘Hasratein.’
- In 1998, Shefali Shah was nominated for the People’s Choice Awards for her film ‘Satya.’
- In 1999, Shefali Shah won the Best Supporting Actress Award at 44th Filmfare Award, for her film ‘Satya’ (1998).
- In 1999, Shefali Shah was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female at the Zee Cine Award (ZCA) for the film ‘Satya.’
- In 2005, she was nominated for the People’s Choice Awards under the category of Best Supporting Actress for her film ‘Waqt: The Race Against Time.’
- In 2006, Shefali Shah was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Filmfare Awards for the film ‘Waqt: The Race Against Time.’
- In 2006, she won the Best Supporting Actress for the film ‘Waqt: The Race Against Time’ at the Stardust Awards.
- In 2006, Shefali Shah was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female at the Zee Cine Award (ZCA) for the film ‘Waqt: The Race Against Time.’
- In 2007, she won the Best Actress Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival for her film ‘Gandhi, My Father.’
- In 2007, Shefali Shah was nominated for the Best Actress in a Supporting Role Award at the Producers Guild Film Awards.
- In 2008, Shefali Shah won the Best Actress (Critics) at the Zee Cine Award for her film ‘Gandhi, My Father.’
- In 2009, Shefali Shah won the Best Supporting Actress for her film ‘The Last Lear,’ at the 55th National Film Awards.
- In 2015, she won the Stardust Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film ‘Dil Dhadakne Do.’
- In 2016, she was nominated for the Filmfare Awards- Best Supporting Actress for the film ‘Dil Dhadakne Do.’
- In 2018, she won the Best Actress in a Short Film for her film ‘ Juice,’ at the 63rd Filmfare Awards.
- In 2019, she won Best Actress in a Leading Role for her Netflix series ‘Delhi Crime’ at the Asian Academy Creative Awards.
- In 2021, Shefali Shah received the Vogue Women of the Year 2021 Award.
Shefali Shah’s ‘Vogue Women of the Year 2021 Award’
- In 2022, Shefali Shah won the Best Actress for her film ‘Jalsa’ at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).
- In 2022, Shefali Shah won the Alberto Sordi Family Awards under the category of International cultural figure.
- In 2023, she won the Most Stylish OTT Entertainer at the Bollywood Hungama Style Icons.
- In 2023, Shefali Shah won the Best Actress at the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) for her film ‘Three of Us.’
Shefali Shah’s ‘Best Actress Award’ from the New York Indian Film Festival 2023 for her film ‘Three of Us’
Net Worth
Shefali Shah’s net worth is estimated to be $5 Million as of 2022.
Favourites
- Painter(s): Mark Rothko and Paul Jackson Pollock
- Book: ‘Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep’ by Michael Schulman
Facts/Trivia
- Shefali Shah loves dogs and often shares photos and videos of her playing with her pets on her social media.
Shefali Shah with her pet dogs at home
- Shefali Shah is also a painter and a few of her art pieces are exhibited at the Art for Concern at Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai. In 2016, she took up a six-month course at Metàfora, an art school in Barcelona, Spain. Shefali Shah also gifted one of her paintings to Amitabh Bachchan.
Shefali Shah presenting her painting to the legendary actor, Amitabh Bachchan
- In 2017, she set up her solo painting exhibition in Pune to exhibit her art pieces; however, the exhibition was not a success.
- In 2021, she started a restaurant named ‘Jalsa’ in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Shefali Shah herself painted the walls of her restaurant. The restaurant serves authentic Indian and international cuisines.
Shefali Shah at her new venture ‘Jalsa’ in Ahmedabad
Shefali Shah painting the walls of her restaurant ‘Jalsa’
- In 2022, Shefali opened the second branch of her restaurant in Bangalore which was rated well by Lifestyle Asia.
- Shefali is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer.
Shefali Shah’s childhood photo of performing Bharatanatyam
- Shefali Shah is often spotted drinking alcoholic beverages with friends at parties and outings.
Shefali Shah drinking alcohol with a friend at a cafe in Mumbai
- She loves to travel and often shares pictures of different travel destinations on her social media.
Shefali Shah at vacation in Australia
- Shefali Shah loves cooking at often cooks new recipes whenever she is free from her shoot.
- In 1995, she starred in Balaji Telefilms’ ‘Mano Ya Na Mano,’ a horror drama series aired on Zee TV. Shefali was featured in the episode titled ‘Kabzaa’ with Durga Jasraj. The episode was then converted into a full-fledged TV series named ‘Kavach’ which was aired on Colors TV.
- In 1995, after shooting for 4 days, Shefali Shah walked out of the set of Ram Gopal Varma’s romantic-comedy film ‘Rangeela’ as she was asked to do something completely opposite of what the role demanded. The actor felt that her decision to do ‘Rangeela’ was a mistake.
- In the early 1990s, Shefali Shah did Gujarati theatre before joining the Bollywood industry. She was 10 years old when she made her first theatre appearance.
- Shefali is fluent in many languages like Tulu, Hindi, English, Marathi, and Gujarati.
- Shefali Shah was just 21 years old when she started playing the role of a mother.
- In 2015, Shefali became the host of the Hindi language crime show ‘Savdhaan India: India Fights Back.’
- In 2020, she made her writing and directorial debut with two short films, ‘Someday,’ and ‘Happy Birthday Mummyji.’ Shefali Shah was self-starred in both short films. ‘Someday’ was premiered at the 51st USA Film Festival and was also screened at the 18th Indian Film Festival Stuttgart in Germany.
Shefali Shah in a still from her short film ‘Happy Birthday Mummyji’
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education