Shefali Shah reveals life-altering experience of bringing Ria to life in ‘Monsoon Wedding’

Mumbai, Nov 30 (IANS) Veteran actress Shefali Shah celebrated 24 years of her iconic film “Monsoon Wedding,” reflecting on her transformative journey as Ria.

In her latest post on Instagram, the ‘Darlings’ actress opened up about how the role became a voice for countless women. Shefali shed the light on courage, resilience, and the power of storytelling that continues to resonate even decades later. Sharing a heartfelt video from the movie, she wrote, “Monsoon Wedding was actually like one big family coming together for a wedding. We all did group yoga in the morning, then a big breakfast that @pagliji got from her home. This was followed by a workshop by Naseer bhai, and then post lunch Mira worked with us on individual scenes. The film went on to become a cult, and it won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. What an incredible run I had thought then. I didn’t realise how this film and Ria would become the voice of so many girls who had gone through it, then and till date.”

“When I did the film it was a cathartic experience, but I think I was focusing more on the creative process. But later from the outside, I could see her churning up the latent strength that lies in every woman. Guilt and shame is ingrained in us. She disowned it and put it on the person who was responsible for causing the damage. She shed her guilt, she repudiated shame, and stood up for herself, and along with herself, unknowingly she became a voice for all those women who had stayed silent for so long.”

Shefali Shah added, “How many others got strength from Ria I don’t know, but I do know that character came to life and became more true because of all the stories of women known and unknown to me.

Often I’m troubled by a question, “What have I done in my life that has been life-altering? I’m not a doctor or a scientist or a researcher or lawyer, activist or anyone who actually helps make others’ lives better. But what do I do? Nothing.”

“I remember years later when I was in Delhi, a very handsome elderly couple walked up to me. The gentleman very warmly appreciated my work while this beautiful, dignified, stately woman, his wife, stood silent throughout, just holding my hands. After thanking them, I was about to leave when the man told me, “She went through what Ria did. Thank you for giving her the voice and strength to talk about it after holding it in for years.”

The post further read, “If anyone saw us, they would have seen a group of three people huddled together, tightly holding hands with tears in their eyes. Two women of different ages sharing the same silent strength. And this is the answer to my haunting question. Sometimes what I do does make a difference.”

“Monsoon Wedding,” directed by Mira Nair, written by Sabrina Dhawan, starred Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah and Vasundhara Das. The film, set during a traditional Punjabi Hindu wedding in Delhi, was released in India on 30 November 2001.

–IANS

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