Shefali Shah earned an acclaim that has arguably been long overdue when last week, she was nominated an International Emmy, for her compelling portrayal of police officer Vartika Chaturvedi in the second season of Netflix's Delhi Crime. In its first season, Delhi Crime looked at how the Delhi Police investigated a brutal gang rape and murder in 2012, which came to be known as the Nirbhaya case. The second season is inspired by the exploits of what was known as the “Kachha Baniyan gang” in the 1990s.
Film Companion spoke to Shah after she received the news of her International Emmy nomination.
Here are edited excerpts from the interview:
FC: Congratulations on your International Emmy nomination. How are you feeling?
SS: Well, I mean, overwhelmed and honored and I still can't believe it. I was miffed last time when the show got nominated, but I didn’t. But then I felt that maybe I'm not good enough. And this time I didn't even know when they were going to announce it. And I'd given up on it. I was very shocked when I heard that I'm nominated. I was really shocked. My first reaction was, “Are you serious?” And I kept asking the same question again and again.
FC: What drew you to Delhi Crime?
SS: Well, I think season one, of course, we'd expect a lot of people to have interest in it because of the case, because the Nirbhaya case had become very personal for everyone. But there was a huge chunk of the audience who did not want to watch it because it was so scary to them in their mind. When Richie Mehta came to me with it, he didn't narrate the script or anything. He told me what had transpired five days after the Nirbhaya incident, and in less than five minutes I said, “I'm doing it.” It was really as simple as that. …
Also, very few shows stand up to the first season. I mean, there will be very few shows where people say, “Oh, my God, it's as good as the first season.” Some people even liked it better. … We couldn't match up to the case, but we did match up to the season. He [director Tanuj Chopra] had a very simple way of looking at it. The first season, they came for the case. The second season, they're coming for the characters because people have invested in the characters. They wanted to see what happened to all these people. Delhi Crime is extremely close to me. Both Delhi Crime and (DCP) Vartika Chaturvedi have changed my life.
FC: In Delhi Crime, you play a character based on a real-life police officer. Can you share some insights into the process of bringing authenticity to your portrayal?
SS: Richie never wanted me to mimic [Chhaya] Ma'am and I'm not a good mimic. I wouldn't be able to do it. I had to understand the essence of her. More than that, the essence, the way her mind worked, the way her heart worked when this incident happened, her interactions with her colleagues, how they are with everyone, what is her relationship, et cetera. … It was always a give and take. Lots of conversations, lots of discussions. I met [Chhaya] Ma'am for two hours. It's impossible to grasp a personality and understand the whole magnitude of that case and how she solved it in two hours. It's not possible. But whenever I had a question, I would text her or call her and ask, “Ma'am, is this the right thing to do? In terms of protocol?” There's a very distinct protocol of how you behave when you go to meet your senior. Do you wear the hat or do you carry your hat? Things like that. And she would let me know what was right and what was wrong.
FC: The Nirbhaya case was solved swiftly and efficiently, which is not a portrait that we get to see of the Indian police system
SS: Absolutely. And it's not like we were trying to make them heroes. … There are a lot of characters who are just like, “Itni salary toh milti nahi hai toh itna kaam kyu karna hai (we don’t get paid enough to do this kind of work.)” That kind of a thing, you know? Then there are people like Vartika and Bhupendra Singh and they're all into it head-first.
You know, the beauty of Vartika, I mean, I think her strength is also her team. She's got a fantastic team. We call it the OG, the original gang. But she knows the strengths and the weaknesses of each of her colleagues, and she allocates work accordingly. When she puts Neeti Singh in the hospital in Delhi Crime season 1, she does it with a distinct thought that I want a girl who is closer to the age of the victim and who the parents can relate to and be easy with and she can take care of them. She knows all that.
I remember this one thing about authenticity – we were shooting the interrogation scene. I said I want to sit on the chair. And I was sitting, leaning on the table, and I've seen Mr. Bachchan as a cop. Mr. Bachchan rolls up his sleeves and all that. Obviously I wanted to roll up my sleeves, and stuff like that.
So, I called up [Chhaya] Ma'am. I said, “Is it okay for me to roll up my sleeves? Is it all right in the uniform?” And she said, “It was one of the coldest winters in Delhi and there was no heating system.” And I was like, okay, that answers it. I can't roll up my sleeves.
FC: Being nominated for an International Emmy is a significant achievement. What do you think about the growing recognition of Indian talent on the global stage?
SS: For me, as an audience also, I feel wow! I can see work and talent and stories in different languages from every corner of the world. We did not have that luxury. You know, for example, Roma, it won the Oscar in Spanish. It was not released theatrically. It was released on OTT and went ahead to win the Oscar. I mean, things have really changed . … the more inclusive it is, the better it is.
When you are creating something, what are you wishing for? That everyone sees our work. OTT has given us that option. The reach is so big that everyone can see our work, which is great. I think [it] encourages us to make competitive content.
FC: How do you think Indian content is ranking with international shows right now?
SS: Delhi Crime is one of the biggest examples. It is made on an international level. I'm not by any way undermining the creativity that comes from our country. It's very rich. We've got fabulous directors, amazing talent, whether it's actors or DOPs or music, et cetera. But obviously, the more people we compete with, the higher we are going to push ourselves. We are watching what is going on across the globe and you are saying, “Oh, I want to learn this from here. I want to take it up to this level. I want to take it a notch higher.” And Richie did that. That's exactly why it [Delhi Crime] won. So many shows that have done that. I think, overall, what is being created, the stories that are being told, the performance level, everything is rising up, and it's constantly going to rise up. It's constant growth, which is fabulous.
FC: Can you think of any other shows that you've recently watched apart from Delhi Crime that you think deserve recognition?
SS: I've seen Jubilee (2023), which I really love — and the world that they had created. I saw Bambai Meri Jaan (2023), and again the world building is just – it really takes you into that space and that zone.
FC: You spoke about how Delhi Crime has shifted things for you. How it has shifted your approach as an actor and also opened doors for you in terms of opportunities. Looking ahead, are there any specific genres you want to work in?
SS: I would love to do a comedy. I would love to do a spy thriller. I would love to do mythology. I want to do everything. I'm a very greedy actor. I want to do everything, and I want to do something like Fleabag — that kind of writing and that kind of character and the performances, I think it's crazy. But I would love to do something like Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) because in real life, I am really goofy. I would love to do stuff like that.
FC: Beyond these accolades and nominations, what is it about your work that you draw satisfaction from the most?
I love what I do. I love it. I'm the happiest on set. There is not one particular thing. It's just from the time I get that script in my hand, I'm completely obsessed with that project, and that's okay.
FC: Are you going to direct more?
SS: I want to direct. I definitely want to direct, but I know that if I decide to direct, I'll just vanish off the grid for a year or so, just working on it. And also I've done a short film, but directing a film is huge, you know, Vipul [Shah] said, “Just enjoy your time as an actor. It has finally come! You can't suddenly take an off and say, okay, I'm going away to direct a film.” So I think it will take some time. But I definitely want to direct. It's a kick.