After making her film debut opposite Mithun Chakraborty in Ramesh Sippy’s Bhrashtachar, actor Shilpa Shirodkar went on to star in several successful movies, including Hum, Khuda Gawah, and Aankhen. Even though Shilpa was well-known in the Hindi film industry, she chose to live a quiet life overseas with her husband Aparesh Ranjit after marriage, shunning the spotlight at the height of her career. Shilpa recently talked candidly about her choice and said she had no regrets about it.
Speaking about leaving the movie business when she was at the height of her abilities, she said in an interview, “I don’t regret taking a break. I miss being busy, but I married such a sweet, nice and simple man, and that was important for me to start my life. Unfortunately, I left India, which is why it was difficult for me to continue working. If I had gotten married in India, I would have one hundred per cent continued working.”
After meeting her now-husband for the first time, Shilpa acknowledged that she had never wanted to feel at home in Mumbai, much less the entire country. She consented to accompany him abroad. Talking about the same, she said, “It was an easy decision. When it is your choice, things are straightforward. It was my choice. I never wanted to leave Mumbai, as I was very close to my parents. However, after meeting my husband, I said yes to him within one and a half days, knowing that he would be going abroad to study. So the bottom line was that I would also be leaving India. I just liked his honesty so much that I didn’t even think about what I was doing. Everything fell in place.”
Shilpa Shirodkar also discussed the disparity in their educational backgrounds — she is a Class 10 dropout and her husband holds a double MBA — but said she never felt tiny or inadequate in front of him. “I am a 10th fail. My husband is a banker. He holds a double MBA and is well-read, as well as quite different. I can discuss everything with him and his colleagues, as well as the life I have experienced with him. I never felt small in front of him,” she said.
When asked if she received any proposals for movies after getting married, she responded, “At that time, it wasn’t the space when women would get rules after marriage, so I don’t think anybody reached out to me, and I wasn’t such a big star, either. I don’t think I was so popular that people wanted me to come back. People were also happy when they said, ‘Ki gayi toh gayi.’ There are many others.” Shilpa acknowledged that her personal development was influenced by her experience living overseas, adjusting to life without friends, and learning how to make ends meet.
