Shefali Shah recalls being touched inappropriately in a market: It’s just shameful, bhool jao

Actor Shefali Shah recently recalled an incident when she was touched inappropriately in a crowded place. She said it made her feel like ‘crap’ about it, however, she decided to never talk about it to anyone. She said she was ashamed of it. (Also read | Shefali Shah is still waiting for good roles despite recent successes: ‘Now they think we cannot go to her with…’)

Shefali recently joined for an episode of a podcast where she talked about her breakthrough performance in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding. In the film, she played the role of Ria Verma who was sexually abused as a child. The film also starred Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Vasundhara Das, Vijay Raaz, Rajat Kapoor, Randeep Hooda and Soni Razdan among others.

Talking along the lines of the film, Shefali opened up about her experiences. She told Smita Prakash in an ANI podcast, “Like I said earlier, everyone’s gone through it. I remember walking in a crowded market and being touched inappropriately and feeling crap about it. And, never ever saying anything because I wouldn’t say it was guilt but it’s just…shameful.”

Smita added, “And wondering if you did anything to invite it?” the actor responded, “Yes. I agree with you. A lot of people think, did I do anything? You feel guilty, shameful and you feel ‘bhool jao (forget it). Shove it under the carpet kind of thing’. Honestly, I don’t think I gave it so much thought that it’s an important conversation to speak. It was just something that struck straight inside me and the entire film.”

Monsoon Wedding was based on romantic entanglements between people as family members come together to attend a wedding in Delhi. It premiered in the Marché du Film section of the Cannes Film Festival of 2001. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award and fetched the Golden Lion award at the Venice International Film Festival.

Shefali has been a part of several hit films, including Rangeela, Satya, Monsoon Wedding, Waqt, Gandhi, My Father, and Dil Dhadakne Do. Last year she delivered three great performances back to back in Jalsa, Darlings and Doctor G.