Actor Shilpa Shirodkar, who enjoyed popularity in the 1990s has returned to acting through the small screen route. In her television debut, she appears in Zee TV’s show “Ek Muthi Aasman”. Excerpts from an interview with the ebullient artist:
Why did you take up a daily soap as your come back in acting which also requires a lot of time? What was behind your decision to take up a daily soap as your comeback vehicle, considering the time it demands?
To be honest my daughter and my husband have been extremely supportive, and my in-laws are fantastic. They are my biggest support system that gives me the opportunity to do different things. So I think this is the right time to venture into newer opportunities in life.
What is your role are you playing in “Ek Muthi Aasman”?
The character is of domestic help Kamala Bai. She is a Marathi maid based in Mumbai who works for a family to keep her house running. She has two kids, a daughter and a son. She wants her children to become well educated and work as officers and not do the kind of work she does.
There have been a lot of shows that are based on this type of the same plot, like “Uttaran” on Colors. so how is yours soap opera different from them?
In today’s time our show is very different. We are trying to reach the real people, incorporating into our story people who have been through this phase. In doing so we take some cinematic liberties. Through the show we are trying to change the mindset of people who employ these domestic helps.
What occupied you during these past years What did you do all these years, when you were not working in the film industry?
I was a full-time mother and wife. I went to new Zealand did not have much to do, whereas my husband was a first year student back then. Every three months I had to travel to and from India since I did not posses a longer duration visa. When I went to New Zealand I wanted to do something so I picked up a hair dressing diploma and later realised what I had done. It required a lot of time since it took the weekends as well. I worked as an apprentice and did all the cleaning up after they were finished with the hair dressing. Since I was not able to spend time with my husband I left that job. Later I joined Dun& Bradstreet and worked with them for a year before I left for London.
Did you find it tough to leave feel any difficulty when you left the film industry?
I left the film industry when I got married to my husband who was a student studying in Holland back then. I knew from the beginning that he would not be staying in India so I knew somewhere down the line that I would have to leave the country, and I was ready for it. I come from a very traditionally Marathi family and we have some rules which me and my sister followed very well.
