Who is this actress, who played role of Sita in Jai Hanuman, has connection with Kajol, now works as photographer, she is...
Here we are talking about former actress Shilpa Mukerji, who is the cousin of Bollywood actress Kajol, whose name does not require any introduction. Not only Kajol but her entire family has established itself in Bollywood for three generations. Even before Kajol, her mother Tanuja and aunt Nutan are also hailed as stalwarts of Bollywood. Both were well-known actresses of the 1960s to 1970s. Kajol's sister Rani Mukerji has also earned a lot of name in Bollywood. Kajol's sister Shilpa has also worked in many films as well as TV ads, best known for her attractive looks and bold acting. How Shilpa Started Her Career?
Shilpa Mukeji is the niece of renowned film director Shomu Mukherjee and Tanuja. Her father, Late Deb Mukherjee, who is the father of director Ayan Mukerji, was a film producer. Shilpa started modeling and was very much liked. Apart from this, Shilpa became famous after 'Jai Hanuman' in the year 1997 and most people started knowing her. She played the role of Sita and everyone liked her very much after seeing her innocence; however, her filmy career did not last long. More About Shilpa Mukerji
Shilpa got the opportunity to work with superstar Rekha in Sawan Kumar Tak's film 'Mother'. After this, Sawan asked her to change her name to 'Jeena Mukherjee', but Shilpa Mukherjee hid the fact that she had worked previously in Sanjay Khan's 'Jai Hanuman'.
When Sawan came to know about this, he got very angry and then chose Sanobar Kabir for his film instead of Shilpa. After this, Shilpa decided to drop acting and became teacher at Sadhna School in Mumbai, where she taught mentally handicapped children between the ages of 8 to10. Presently, she became a world-class photographer and also started to work for disabled childrens.
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Streaming platforms have changed the game. Films and shows like 'Do Patti', 'Mrs', 'Delhi Crime', 'Bombay Begums', 'Hush Hush', 'Dahaad' and countless others have proven that audiences are hungry for strong women protagonists. Huma Qureshi is a perfect example; she's led 'Maharani' and also taken on solid parts in films that might never have made it to theatres at scale. In her past interview with PTI, Huma pointed out, 'In the recent years, we are seeing more such (women centric) films, the new term is female-led films. For me, it is not the female-led films that are creating a sense of empowerment. Today, when I read a script, the character of the girl is not just contributing towards the hero's journey or is not someone waiting for the war hero to return home. Rather, we think why can't a girl go on the border? So, that shift in the way we are approaching stories, storytelling has come about. ' OTT lets creators take these chances without being strangled by opening weekend pressure. But ironically, it also becomes an excuse. Many producers still prefer 'testing' women-led stories on streaming before risking theatre screens. Huma Qureshi on sexism and strong female roles Huma has always been vocal about the difficulties of finding meaty roles. As she told had TOI, It is difficult to get well-written female parts. We as a society don't like strong women. We like women who are not vocal about what they think and feel. That reflects in our films as well. But now times are changing and female-centric roles are more in demand Huma Qureshi And it's true. From 'Queen' giving us Rani's solo honeymoon, to 'Raazi' showing a newlywed wife who is also a spy, the stories are getting bolder. So how long before these films stop being called a 'risky bet'? Realistically, we may still be a few big hits away. Bollywood may need around half a dozen consistent Rs 150+ crore grossers led by women across genres before the 'risky bet' tag vanishes to a certain extent. It's an exciting time for Hindi cinema. Young audiences have already opened their wallets and hearts to women leading the charge. The biggest sign of real change will be when we stop prefixing films with 'female-led' like it's a genre in itself. Imagine a day when a film starring Vidya Balan, Priyanka Chopra, or Kiara Advani in the lead is simply called… a film. Not a 'bold risk', not a 'brave choice', not a 'female-fronted bet.' Just a story worth watching. Till then, it's one hit at a time. And who knows? Maybe in just a handful of hits, Bollywood will finally stop asking, 'Are solo female lead films a risky bet?'
