‘Filmmakers are seeing more in my eyes now than my body’

Back then, I was only getting glamorous roles... Now, filmmakers have started seeing me in a new light.

Having started her career as the Kaanta Laga girl in the early 2000s, Shefali Jariwala believes it is only now that filmmakers are tapping on her acting chops, rather than just focusing on her looks. And the actor reached this conclusion after observing the kind of work coming her way.

“I’m getting to play these (important) characters now. Back then, I was only getting glamorous roles. It was just not something I saw myself doing anymore,” she says, adding,

“Now, I don’t know how it has changed, but it changed so beautifully. Filmmakers are seeing more in my eyes now, rather than my body.”

The actor attributes this change to the advent of the OTT space. “I’m shooting every month now, every character I am playing is very beautiful. Stories are substantial, and I am happy to contribute to such scripts,” gushes Jariwala, who is currently working on two OTT projects, including season two of Ratri Ke Yatri, in which she will be seen in a de-glam avatar.

While the 38-year-old is loving this phase of her career,

SHEFALI JARIWALA

she is also ecstatic to be back on the set. “I find a lot of peace when I am working,” she continues, “It has been oneand-a-half years since I set foot on a set, I finally broke that and started shooting. I am happy that I could be a part of a wonderful show like Ratri Ke Yatri. It was an emotional experience portraying the character of a prostitute and understanding their plight. At the end of the day, they are women. They, too, have emotions and dreams.”

Actor