Shefali Shah: Was more focused on direction than acting

Turning filmmaker with a short film, Shefali Shah discusses juggling roles behind and in front of the camera.

She is admittedly hard on herself, scrutinising every performance to determine how she could have bettered it. This relentless pursuit to perfect her craft probably makes Shefali Shah such a delight to watch on screen. Understandably then, the actor is a bundle of nerves as she turns director with a short film. "I know my work comes with certain expectations. I would be disappointed if it didn't turn out to be something I am proud of. Very rarely do I like my own work," begins Shah.

The yet-untitled venture, which revolves around a doctor handling COVID-19 cases as she battles a personal tragedy, was shot at her residence with a six-member crew. "Though set against the backdrop of the pandemic, the film addresses the larger idea of our fear of isolation," she explains.

The movie sees her on triple duty — as an actor, director and writer. Describing herself as "finicky" about her work, Shah says she did extensive homework before calling for action. "As a first-time director, I couldn't afford to be unprepared. The script was broken down and revisited several times over. While I was developing the script, my character became second nature to me. So, I didn't have to think of how I would portray it in front of the camera. On the day of the shoot, I was more focused on direction than acting."

If helming a film for the first time is a tough task, directing oneself is a trickier slope. "I always imagined that as a filmmaker, I would say 'action' loudly from behind the camera. But here, I had to place the camera and then take my position in front of it; that was weird. As an actor, I never see the monitor. This time around, I had to constantly check it and find solutions to the problems," says Shah, who intends to take the Sunshine Pictures production to the festival circuit.

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