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Netflix’s acclaimed series Delhi Crime is back with its third season, and once again, lead actress Shefali Shah is in the spotlight for her powerful portrayal of DCP Vartika Chaturvedi. This time, the story revolves around the sensitive issue of human trafficking. Vartika no longer has her old police station or the same authority — but she still carries the same relentless passion to save the girls at any cost. Recently, Shefali spoke to the media about her character, women empowerment, and the show's social impact. Here’s what she shared…
How does Vartika Chaturvedi evolve in ‘Delhi Crime Season 3’?
After three years, both Vartika and I have grown. In the previous season, she received a punishment-like “promotion” — transferred from Delhi to Assam, away from her family and her team. During a case of arms trafficking, she discovers a group of trafficked girls and returns to Delhi. Here, she challenges her seniors, but the station is no longer hers. Her team welcomes her warmly, yet she doesn’t enjoy the same authority anymore. Now she operates at an interstate level. Vartika suppresses her emotions and puts her entire focus into the mission — finding the girls.
The producers and Netflix heads may say the show has become bigger, but for me, Vartika has become deeper. There’s anger, pressure, and frustration — but no drama. Her focus remains razor-sharp: to find the girls.
The season deals with human trafficking. How do you connect it to society?
These things happen around us all the time, but we often choose to overlook them. It’s not just about sex trafficking — in many villages, girls are still killed at birth because they are unwanted. Ironically, the same families later “buy” brides from elsewhere. Promises of good jobs, foreign placements, or better lives — these too are forms of trafficking. Delhi Crime’s beauty is that it holds up a mirror to society. We read about such cases, feel sad for a few days, and move on. But this show imprints those truths in our hearts and minds permanently. I’m as sensitive as any other human being — but this show deepens that sensitivity even more.
This time the pressure is huge. How will you handle it? And what do you think about the strong presence of women in the series?
The show breaks stereotypes. Where male heroes and villains dominate most stories, here 80% of the primary cast is women. The “cat-and-mouse” chase between Vartika and Badi Didi (Huma Qureshi) is intense. The audience knows where Badi Didi is headed, and Vartika is tracing her every move.
Badi Didi is emotionally volatile; Vartika is calm, balanced — “I won’t display emotions, but I will catch you.” Despite having only two scenes with Huma, I was extremely excited. Jaya Bhattacharya, Rasika Dugal, Mita Vashisht, Sayani Gupta and many young actresses — all of them have done brilliant work. Every day in the interrogation room, a new actress would come, and we’d be blown away by their performances. Women today are rockstars — their sensitivity and vulnerability are their real strength. The stories that were once suppressed are now finally being told.
Women are dominating many fields today. How do you see this change?
Women are the perfect blend of sensitivity, vulnerability, and strength. Power doesn’t come only from brute strength — it comes from emotional depth. If we don’t feel deeply, we cannot find solutions.
What are your upcoming projects besides Delhi Crime?
I’m doing a bank heist project with Vipul Shah. It stars Jaideep Ahlawat, Abhishek Banerjee, and Srishti Shrivastava. The script is extremely engaging, and we had a great time shooting it.
We expected to shoot in Assam, but the shoot happened in Film City — I was truly heartbroken!
Besides that, we shot in Jhunjhunu, Rohtak, Haryana, Mumbai, and Delhi.
How excited are you for ‘Delhi Crime Season 3’?
Excited, nervous, and a little anxious.
Delhi Crime and Vartika are extremely close to my heart.
I’m grateful for all the love received so far — and I pray this season receives the same love and acceptance.
