Actress Shefali Shah will be making her directorial debut with the short film ‘Happy Birthday Mummy Ji’. The film revolves around the life of a housewife named Suchi. In an interview with IANS, the actress said that she always wanted to direct a film.
“I wanted to direct a film for the longest time but I wasn’t sure if immediately I can take the responsibility of a feature film. However, during the lockdown, we all have got a good amount of time to ponder upon many things, and directing a film was one such for me,” she said.
Talking about her short film, she said IANS, “I started writing the story and worked on the script and eventually, I decided to direct the story by myself. That is how my directorial debut happened.”
Further, the Delhi Crime actress talked about how direction was altogether a different experience than acting. She took two months’ time for the preparation of a 15-minute-long short film. “I think for a feature film direction, I would take a year-long preparation and by the grace of God, the kind of acting opportunity I am getting now, even though I wish to direct, I will think about it next year onwards,” said Shefali.
She added, “Direction is a job of taking responsibility for everyone’s faith in you, collaborating with them and giving the right credit, and justifying their effort while making the film. Also, I realized that as a creative mind even though we can imagine doing a lot, as a director, we have to keep the logistical execution within a budget and timeframe in mind.”
Shefali Shah was critically acclaimed for her performance in the ‘Delhi Crime’ web series. She received National Award for Best Supporting Actress for the movie, ‘The Last Lear’. The versatile actress will now be seen in the director’s chair. ‘Happy Birthday Mummy Ji’ will be releasing on July 23 on YouTube.