Shefali Shah Plays The Central Role Of A Passionate Female Cop In Series Delhi Crime Acquired By Netflix

Jyothi venkatesh

National award-winning actress Shefali Shah plays DCP Vartika Chaturvedi based on the real-life Delhi cop who investigated the 2012 rape case that shocked the world and hunted the rapists in 72 hours, the series centers on the heroic actions of the Delhi police. 

With the eyes of the world upon it; the investigation is led by one passionate female officer who was driven to find the perpetrators by the crime’s extreme brutality. The series is produced by Golden Karavan and Ivanhoe Pictures

‘Delhi Crime’ is the first Indian series to have its World Premiere Sundance Film Festival 2019. The premiere screening will be held on 29^th January in the Indie Episodic category, followed by two more screenings on 30^th and 31^st January.

Shefali who is at Sundance Film Festival shares her joy about the series picked up by Netflix, “It’s an absolute honour to be a part of this project that touches a nerve for every Indian and every woman. Everyone across the world was affected by heinous crime.  It’s very fitting that it reaches a global audience on Netflix.” She says. Excited about Sundance premiere she adds, “I am very excited that this is the first Indian series which is going to Sundance, it’s a fantastic start and even before the news was out and irrespective of I kept telling Richie and I knew this is a show we all deserve to be proud of.”

Shefali Shah who is thrilled to get into the shoes of the female cop who leads the investigation says, “To play a real-life character the responsibility is far more because it’s not just based on your imagination or a fictional story. The incident was so traumatic even when we look back; it had to be dealt with utmost sensitivity” she says. “This was not an ordinary cop; it was about a who went through all the motions and she along with her team was constantly at the station and hunted the rapists in 72 hours. For every cop there is one case which becomes personal, this particular case was personal for (Vartika)” she adds.

Shefali collaborated with the Indo-Canadian director Richie Mehta for the first time. Talking about the experience Shefali says, “Projecting and recreating a real-life incident or character isn’t easy. It requires immense sensitivity and precision to respect the truth. Which is exactly what Richie had. He had facts, years of research, honesty, sensitivity and the passion to lead us. And yet he didn’t want to lead me, he wanted me to collaborate with him on this. Creating Vartika along with Richie has been an enriching experience. The process was very consuming and gratifying and I couldn’t have done it alone.”

Talking about the series she says, “Delhi Crime is a story of brutality, but also one of hope and triumph over that brutality. It is a story of injustice against a woman and the fight of another woman to correct it and bring justice to her.  The police officer on whom it’s based is an incredibly inspirational figure and it’s a huge opportunity to be associated with the project. I hope that Netflix members everywhere in the world watch, feel and empathize with this story.”

The National Award winning actress Shefali Shah made her feature film debut in Rangeela followed by a critically acclaimed film, Satya (for which she received the Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress and a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress).

Shah starred in the film directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, Waqt: The Race Against Time.

In 2007, she received critical acclaim and won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Rituparno Ghosh’ The Last Lear. She starred in the 2015 dramedy, Dil Dhadakne Do directed by Zoya Akhtar, receiving several nominations for Best Supporting Actress and won Stardust Best Supporting Actress Award in 2015. She, along with the main cast won the Screen Award for Best Ensemble Cast for the film.

Shefali Shah's breakthrough performance was in the internationally acclaimed Monsoon Wedding by Mira Nair, which won the Golden Lion for Best Picture and Director award at Venice Film Festival 2001.

She graduated to mature roles as Kasturba Gandhi in Gandhi, My Father (received Best Actress award at Tokyo Film Festival in 2007) and Black & White, 15 Park Avenue Street by Aparna Sen.

Shefali lent her voice for the character of Raksha in the Hindi version of Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book (2016).

She played the lead in director Neeraj Ghaywan’s short film Juice, for which she won the Filmfare Best Actress Award (2018)

Most recently, she played the romantic lead opposite actor Neeraj Kabi in Once Again, an Indo-German feature directed by Kanwal Sethi

After doing theatre and some memorable TV serials (Banegi Apni Baat, Tara, Campus, Adhikar, Kabhie Kabhie,Naya Nukkad) in the early years of her career, Shefali returned to the stage recently opposite Kiran Karmarkar in the Hindi version of Chandrakant Kulkarni's play Dhyanimani; Bas Itna Sa Khwab.

Apart from being a versatile actress, Shefali Shah is an incredible chef, painter, trained singer and a writer.

Born in 1972 to Sudhakar Shetty (former RBI employee, and a Mangalorean) and Shobha Shetty (a homeopathy doctor, from a Gujarati family), Shefali grew up in Santa Cruz Mumbai and speaks Tulu, Hindi, English, Marathi and Gujarati fluently. Shefali is married to the filmmaker, Vipul Amrutlal Shah and they have two sons.

For more Bollywood updates, follow Bollyy!

Tags: Bollywood, Bollywood News, Bollywood Updates, Television, Telly News, Shefali Shah, Netflix