'My USP is sincerity'
She is best remembered for playing the no-nonsense character of Bindiya in Chak De India. Even after having delivered strong performances in Khamosh Paani and Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi, it was the SRK film that brought her into the limelight. While cinema is her biggest love, Shilpa Shukla is happy to try out something new on television. She is excited about her debut on TV with two shows — Jhalak Dikhla Jaa and Rajuben.
"I like to go through a process where I pick up new skills. After doing an intense film like Kala Paani I did Chak De where besides acting I learnt hockey. After that I went through a long break because the kind of roles I was offered were not exciting enough till Season's Greetings and Mumbai Mast Kalander came my way. Jhalak is again an interesting show where I am going to learn dance and perform live. Rajuben is an intense underworld drama. Both Jhalak and Rajuben complement each other," she explains.
She admits that Jhalak is a difficult show. "I have been practicing for over a month now and have picked up steps quite well. I think your job becomes easy when you do what you like to do," she adds. Even then Shilpa says Jhalak is a big challenge because every participant has an USP. She elaborates, "I never imagined that Mohinder (Amarnath) and Ugesh (Sorcar) could dance so well. Gauhar is a fabulous dancer." So what's her USP? "My USP is sincerity and hard work," she adds.
"I hope Jhalak and Rajuben will help me get some fan following because I have two very interesting films coming up in October," she says.
If Jhalak is exciting and challenging, so is Rajuben. "I don't have a one line for the show. What I found interesting about it is the protagonist's character sketch — an unusually smart girl who marries an underworld upstart and creates her own world with her husband's gang and goes on to become Rajuben from Rajshree. Even the death of her husband doesn't break her," says Shilpa who, by her own admission, is an intense person and doesn't believe in superficial acting. "It has to come from the heart with full conviction."
She doesn't watch much television and has no clue about what works and what doesn't. "But I hope Jhalak and Rajuben will give me enough exposure and help me get some fan following because I have two very interesting films coming up in October," she says. Will she do more TV shows in future? "You never know what comes next. Films are my first love and most of my friends are into films. But the idea is to keep performing and hence television could be one option too," she admits, adding, "So far it's been a beautiful journey from theatre in Delhi to films in Mumbai. I can fit into any medium."
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