Exclusive! Vipul Shah on Shefali Shah's success in 2022: It's unfortunate that it happened 10 years later in her life

It's impossible to not mention Shefali Shah when talking about the year 2022. The actor began the year with an intense performance in the Disney+ Hotstar series Human, in which she has gray shades. After that, she played an amazing, nuanced part in the Amazon Prime Video movie Jalsa, which also starred Vidya Balan. This was just a start, as she was next seen in Netflix's Darlings, where she played the adorable Shamshunissa Ansari and won the hearts of everyone all over again.

Soon after that, Shefali stepped back into the shoes of DCP Vartika Chaturvedi in Netflix's Delhi Crime Season 2. Last but definitely not least, we saw her as a no-nonsense gynaecologist in Doctor G, which was a theatrical release.

We met up with filmmaker Vipul Shah, who is Shefali's husband, and asked him about the great year she had. He praised his wife by stating, "I think what people don't know is that she has fought a very hard battle of rejecting more than I don't know how many films because she was constantly offered mother's roles. She sat at home for two or three years. But she was very clear that I would not get stereotyped because I am an actor who wants to explore every possible thing. I think that's what has finally paid off. So a lot of credit goes to her resilience and her perseverance for what she wanted to do. She kind of stuck to her guns, and it's amazing to finally see her doing what she's doing."

Vipul also spoke about how Shefali got her due after almost a decade. The Namastey London helmer further said, "I just feel that it's unfortunate that it happened 10 years later in her life. But it's happening now, and I hope that this continues for many years to come because we'll be able to see some really amazing performances. It will be a great pleasure to see that."

Talking about how people still remember her for her roles in TV shows and the films she did in the 1990s and 2000s, the filmmaker added, "I looked at it as the kind of impact she has on everybody in whatever she does. Even today, people talk about Satya, Monsoon Wedding, and Waqt. People today meet her and talk about Hasratein, which was, I don't know, how many years ago, and Banegi Apni Baat. That is the kind of impact she has created with every piece of work that she's done. So, when people meet her, they're confused because they want to talk about Hasratein, Banegi Apni Baat, Monsoon Wedding, Satya, or Dil Dhadakne; they go on and on, and it's very rare to see that happening. It only happens to the most refined actors, and I think she is one of the best in the country. Rather, I think she is the best in the country. So I'm not surprised that people connect with her because of the many characters that she has played."

Vipul is the producer and co-director of Human, which came out this year.