Shefali Shah lifts lid on recent flight encounter that sparks 'reel vs real' debate

Shefali Shah took to her Instagram handle to share an anecdote from a recent flight she was on. The post featured a picture of Shefali in flight, accompanied by an elaborate caption recounting her brief encounter followed by a winding deliberation on it. The caption also saw Shefali reflect on how 'real' she is.

Shefali's run-in with an air hostess

The post in question, features a picture of Shefali, in flight, sitting against a sunny window with her sunglasses on as she hugs a book close to her chest. Recalling her brief but impactful exchange with the air hostess, Shefali's narration of the story continually reiterated how sweet the demeanour of the lady in question was.

The flight attendant, besides reminding Shefali to be mindful of the gaps between the seats also returned to appreciate the actor's work while also pointing out how she or the other crew members simply did not recognise her. Shefali recalls the flight attendant saying, "me and the other crew didn’t even recognise you. You look so different than you do on screen, but love your work". 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Shefali Shah (@shefalishahofficial)

Shefali's take on being 'real'

Shefali candidly shared in the caption how the 'but' in the compliment caught her off guard, sending her in to a rabbit hole of what it could mean. Shefali gave the statement the benefit of doubt, wanting to assume that the lady simply meant to draw a comparison between the real-life Shefali versus the myriad characters she plays on screen.

The actor then went down an unpleasant memory lane, recounting an incident where she was told "T.V pe toh achi lagti hai" (but she looks better on TV). Shefali recounted how people have often unabashedly been "disappointed" not finding her to look anything like the woman they saw on screen and were indecent enough to voice it in a brash manner.

The actor signed off saying, "I’m not a mannequin, nor a painting. I am REAL, as real as one can be".

Shefali Shah was last seen as Rukhsana in 2022 film Jalsa. She next starred as Shamshunissa in Alia Bhatt's maiden production Darlings, a dark comedy take on domestic violence. She also starred as Dr. Nandini Srivastav in Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Doctor G, later the same year.