Shefali Shah reveals why she opted out of Rangeela after four days of shoot: ‘Realised this is not what I want to do’

Shefali Shah made her Bollywood debut in 1995 with a minor role in Ram Gopal Varma’s Rangeela, starring Aamir Khan, Urmila Matondkar and Jackie Shroff in the lead. She revealed in an interview that she opted out of the film after shooting for four days.

In Rangeela, Shefali played an actor named Mala Malhotra. She said that the role was different from what she was told before filming.

Talking to India Today, Shefali said, “Honestly, the role turned out to be very different from what I was told and understood. Moreover, it was very different from what it got made. After four days of shooting, I realised that this is not what I want to do, this is not what I was told. So I excused myself out of the film.” She added that she is yet to watch Rangeela.

While Shefali quit Rangeela halfway, she went on to work with RGV in Satya and won acclaim for her performance. “It was because of Rangeela that Satya happened,” she said.

Currently, Shefali is gearing up for the release of the Disney+ Hotstar series Human, which explores themes of medical malpractice, fast-tracked drug trials and their effect on human lives. The show, which also stars Kirti Kulhari, Ram Kapoor and Vishal Jethwa, will begin streaming on January 14.

Also see | Shefali Shah says she ‘didn’t even reach a certain age’ before being typecast: ‘I played mother to Akshay Kumar when I was around 28-30’

Human is directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and Mozez Singh. Shefali told PTI about her character, “Gauri was written in a certain way, but the more I read the script and thought about it, I decided to play it differently. I am glad my directors agreed and gave me the freedom. Gauri is unlike anyone I have ever known. It pushed me out of my comfort zone because she is completely opposite to me. She is like a Pandora’s box. I studied the script every single day but she kept surprising me because the character is unpredictable.”