One actress praising another is a rare thing in the entertainment industry but sometimes it can happen. Rani Mukherjee was so moved and so impressed by Shefali Shah’s performance in Gandhi, My Father she called her to congratulate her.
Rani said, “I just had to do it! When I saw the film I realized Shefali was overwhelming. Even though Gandhi My Father is a father-son story Shefali is exquisite. I just had to tell her that.”
Shefali was completely surprised and said, “It’s not as though Rani and I are friends or anything. She called me out of the blue and said, ‘You’re the first person I’m calling after seeing the film.’ I felt so happy. Not because she is Rani Mukherjee. But because here was an actress reaching to another.”
About the praise for her role as Kasturba, “I don’t want to over-rate myself. When I look back at what I’ve done in Gandhi My Father I feel, ‘Hell, I’ve fallen short’. The thing is, since I’m a spontaneous actress. I don’t know what I’m doing when the camera goes on. It’s only later that I realize, ‘Oh. So this is what I’ve done.’ Now I need to very careful about what I do.”
Shefali intends to take awhile to consider what her next project will be saying, “I’ll wait a year. But I won’t do anything that will disappoint people like Rani who like my work.”
