SHILPA Shirodkar Debuts on Television in Zee TV’s next show

The serial will depict the hopes and aspirations of domestic workers

Actor Shilpa Shirodkar, who enjoyed immense popularity in the 90’s with hit films like Mrityudand, Khuda Gawah, Hum, Aankhen and Gopi Kishan, bid adieu to stardom and walked to the altar with UK-based merchant banker in 2000. Having played wife and mom for over a decade now, Shilpa is all set to return to her first love – acting! The latest on her is that Shilpa is all set to debut on Indian television with her role in Zee TV’s next production slated to go on air mid-August.

Her new show on Zee TV promises to give viewers a reality check and an insider’s look into the world of Mumbai’s unsung heroes – the bais! Produced by DJ’s ‘A Creative Unit’, the show will beautifully capture the hopes and aspirations of a domestic worker alongside the trials and tribulations of her daily life. It will showcase how domestic workers mortgage their own life to toil and tears only so that their children can grow up enjoying the fruits of education and amenities they could only dream of and live life with dignity in the future.

Shilpa confirmed the news, saying, “Yes, I’ve been signed on to play the lead in Zee TV’s next and I am very kicked about the subject it broaches. There are over 10,00,000 domestic workers in Mumbai alone whose day starts at the crack of dawn. They have no time to dawdle over a leisurely breakfast and chit-chat with their families. They set about hurriedly cooking, packing tiffins for their men and children, cleaning, washing, etc. This is a normal day for women everywhere, one might say. Except that these particular women have to leave home and often walk for 30-60 minutes or board a congested train to other households where they repeat the same cleaning, washing, cooking routine several times over in a day. Those who are employed full time have the added responsibility of looking after the needs of children who do not as much as bother to pick up a glass of water or their dirty plates or fold their clothes because they expect the Bai to fetch and carry all day long. Yet, the Bai remains, perhaps, the most taken-for-granted service provider of the household. Most of us deal with our maids with a casual “we pay her, don’t we?” approach. With this context, I am extremely glad my role of Kamala Bai and the show is an attempt to sensitize people towards the realities of this underprivileged yet constantly struggling lot!”  

So what has Shilpa been up to in all this while? She says, “Coming from a fairly traditional, rooted Maharashtrian family, there’s a certain age by which girls are expected to settle down. So, since I hadn’t found a suitable match on my own, I tied the knot the arranged way with Aparesh, a boy my mum chose for me. He was studying back then in Netherlands and so I shifted away. In 2000, there was no dearth of film offers but I knew I had to get my priorities in order and marriage had to be the focus at that point. I’ve stayed with him in the Netherlands, New Zealand and London over a course of ten years and we have a lovely daughter. So, I never really missed the arclights. It was when my parents passed away 5 years ago that Namrata (my sister) and I decided it was time to stay closer. So I shifted back to Mumbai with Aparesh and let my daughter adjust to the rhythm of life here. Now that my family’s fully settled here, I felt it was time to come back and explore interesting acting opportunities.”    

Here’s wishing Shilpa the very best with her new role!