The super-skilled Shefali Shah returns to Netflix’s Delhi Crime Season 3, along with actors Rasika Dugal ,Rajesh Tailang Jaya Bhattacharya and Anuraag Arora reprising their roles. The cast is joined by Huma Qureshi who plays the main antagonist .
Shefali Shah, reprising her role DCP Vartika Chaturvedi is kicked about her return to (uni)form. “Returning as Madam Sir always feels deeply personal. Her significance, both to me and in today’s times, has only grown stronger in my eyes. Vartika is fighting an enemy that not only crosses borders, but also exists in the shadow of everyday society.”
Shefali feels strongly about this season’s theme. “Human trafficking isn’t the act of a few; it’s the symptom of a society that looks the other way. But Vartika, true to who she is, keeps fighting anyway, even if it means saving just one life from the clutches of this murky world. The stakes this time are unlike anything Vartika has faced. Every lead, every dead end, pushes her and her team closer to the breaking point. This season widens the lens of Delhi Crime, but stays rooted in what defines it — empathy, truth, and the relentless pursuit of justice.”
Shefali points out that Delhi Crime is also about a support system for a working woman at home. “My character Vartika is actually blessed and she is lucky to have the kind of support system she has at home. Her husband is from the police force so he understands the demands of her job. In fact she knows that she can go out and do what she does because there is a lot of support , so as a person she is someone who I think when she gets into something she goes out and does it. Even if there were problems like Neeti(Rasika Duggal) has in her family life, she would probably just fight it more vehemently than Neeti would. But like every working woman, Vartika has her home and she has her work. She chooses to be involved in both of them. It is not forced upon her. It’s a choice she makes. The fact that she has the freedom of that choice means a lot and I wish that could be the case for all women around.
As she dons the khaki uniform again Shefali is aware of the augmented expectations. “I am overwhelmed with the love and respect I’ve received, and I continue to receive. When I go out to do something, I am not working with all this in mind because I am so obsessed with the show, project and character that all I am thinking of is how do I be true to her, how do I create this person not how Shefali enacts to be this person. That is the difference. If I have managed to become recognized as a character rather than just Shefali getting compliments as an actor, I have done my job well. I think that works for me.”
She is not looking at the aftermath of Season 3. “All the projects I have done, I have never thought of it ahead as to what will happen. What all accolades we are going to get or what awards we’ll get. I am just so obsessed of what I am doing and that is the highlight of doing a project. The process of it and I enjoy it, I love it. Also, I go there believing and I know that I don’t really know so everyday is a new day, everyday is a learning, everyday I am scared. I think that works for me. The day I feel complacent or I feel okay I know, I am confident enough to go up there and do this, I think that will really hinder my growth. It really overwhelms me that people trust me so much.”
