The Last Lear is my best performance" - Shefali Shah
After
your
intense
act
in
Subhash
Ghai's
Black&White,
you
are
now
seen
in
yet
another
'different'
film,
The
Last
Lear...Tell
us
something
about
the
film.
The
Last
Lear
is
based
on
a
play
that
Utpal
Duttji
had
done
a
long
time
ago.
It's
about
this
ageing
Shakespearean
actor
who
quits
theatre
(in
spite
of
being
completely
in
love
with
theatre)
because
of
a
personal,
emotional
reason.
After
many
years,
a
young
director
convinces
him
to
act
in
a
film
and
how
he
goes
about
acting
in
the
film
and
how
it
changes
his
life
is
what
The
Last
Lear
depicts.
What
is
your
role
in
the
film?
Are
you
paired
opposite
Amitabh
Bachchan?
I
play
the
character
of
Vandana.
Yes...I
am
paired
opposite
Amit-ji
in
the
film
but
I
am
not
married
to
him.
Vandana
can
be
a
temptress,
a
seductress
and
is
a
complete
woman
according
to
me.
She
is
a
very
impulsive
person
because
she
goes
to
watch
a
play
and
falls
head
over
heels
in
love
with
this
man
whom
she
sees
on
stage.
He
is
much
older
than
her
in
age
but
without
bothering
about
what
the
society
would
say
or
think,
she
just
goes
ahead
and
decides
to
live
with
him.
The
whole
relationship
is
very
interesting
and
unique
because
a
lot
of
it
is
unspoken
and
unsaid.
They
do
share
a
lot
of
passion
but
there
is
no
name
or
no
word
ever
used
to
describe
the
relationship
that
they
share.
You
and
Amitabh
Bachchan
worked
earlier
in
Waqt.
How
was
it
working
again
with
him
this
time
around?
Do
you
both
have
many
scenes
together?
We
don't
have
that
many
scenes
together
but
working
with
Amit-ji
is
always
an
honour
and
a
complete
pleasure.
He
is
an
incredible
actor
and
a
very
nice
person.
Even
though
we
have
few
scenes
together,
it's
very
important
that
the
relation
between
us
is
depicted
well
because
till
the
end
of
the
film
you
keep
wondering
what
relationship
do
Vandana
and
Harry
(Mr.
Bachchan's
character)
share.
Is
she
his
daughter?
Or
Is
she
his
wife?
There
is
an
element
of
intrigue
to
my
character
and
to
our
relation
in
the
film.
The
chemistry
is
more
relatable
because
whatever
is
seen
is
understood,
it's
not
spoken
about
much.
How
did
you
bag
the
role?
Actually
Amit-ji
called
me
for
this
role.
He
said
"Ritu-da
is
making
this
film
and
I
want
you
to
do
this
role".
Post
that
Ritu-da
also
called
me
and
he
narrated
me
the
script.
When
I
read
the
script,
I
thought
Vandana's
role
was
the
finest
written
roles
in
the
film
and
said
Yes
immediately.
The
Last
Lear
is
a
film
in
English.
How
different
is
it
working
for
an
English
film
apart
for
the
obvious
linguistic
differences?
Honestly…it
isn't
because
English
is
the
language
we
almost
think
in
these
days.
Besides
I
have
done
films
in
English
like
15
Park
Avenue,
Monsoon
Wedding,
Gandhi
My
Father
and
now
The
Last
Lear...In
fact
I
have
done
more
films
in
English
than
Hindi.
Also
there
couldn't
have
been
another
language
for
this
film
because
it's
very
difficult
to
translate
Shakespeare
in
any
other
language.
The
essence
should
be
retained
and
I
am
glad
it
has
been.
You
said
the
film
is
about
this
ageing
Shakespearean
actor.
So
what
references
do
we
get
to
see
of
Shakespeare
in
the
film?
See
the
role
that
Amit-ji
plays
is
that
of
Harry,
who
is
a
Shakespearean
actor.
His
biggest
dream
in
his
life
is
to
play
King
Lear.
So
yes
the
Shakespearean
element
has
a
very
strong
pertinence
to
the
film.
What's
with
the
title
The
Last
Lear?
I
guess
it's
about
him
being
The
Last
Lear
even
though
not
actually
getting
to
play
that
and
his
dream
and
vision
and
desire
is
to
play
that
one
part
which
he
doesn't
play
in
his
life.
This
is
your
first
time
with
Rituparno
Ghosh...How
was
the
experience?
Incredible!
The
Last
Lear
has
been
one
of
my
most
creative
rewarding
films.
The
entire
process
has
been
extremely
enriching.
We
just
met
once
before
the
shoot
for
the
narration
and
the
second
time
we
met
was
to
discuss
Vandana's
character.
He
gave
me
his
point
of
view
and
asked
for
my
inputs.
We
just
spoke
about
her
likes,
her
dislikes,
her
passion,
her
love,
her
fears
and
her
hatred
elements.
We
just
worked
on
building
her
career.
Once
I
went
on
the
sets...he
didn't
stop
me
even
once.
In
fact
after
shooting
for
two-
three
days,
I
wondered
if
he
was
doing
fine.
Hence,
I
went
and
asked
him
"Ritu-da
you
are
not
saying
a
word
when
I
do
a
shoot.
I
am
clueless
as
to
how
I
am
doing!" He
said
"You
are
bang
on…if
you
were
not
in
sync
I
would
have
told
you."
For
me
The
Last
Lear
is
my
best
performance.
I
have
grown
as
an
actor
after
doing
this
film.
It's
been
a
turning
point
in
my
career
as
a
performer
and
I
hope
people
feel
that
way
too.
The
film
is
extremely
dear
to
me.
The
Last
Lear
also
has
some
talented
actors
like
Arjun
Rampal,
Preity
Zinta
and
Divya
Dutta.
How
has
it
been?
Lovely.
They
are
great
people
to
work
with
and
are
immensely
talented.
I
think
all
of
us
have
pushed
ourselves
as
far
as
this
film
is
concerned.
Every
performance
is
a
revelation.
The
film
has
been
appreciated
by
people
in
the
festival
circuit.
Do
you
think
it
will
find
mass
appeal?
I
personally
feel
that
a
film
cannot
suffice
everybody's
requirements.
Certain
films
have
a
certain
kind
of
audience.
Whoever
understands
this
kind
of
cinema
is
going
to
appreciate
and
love
it.
It's
like
world
cinema.
But
to
expect
a
rickshaw
guy
to
understand
it
and
enjoy,
it
is
a
little
too
far-fetched.
It's
not
a
film
which
you
can
ignore.
People
will
either
love
it
or
they
will
be
critical
about
it
but
it
will
certain
be
a
topic
for
discussion
in
the
days
to
come.
Many
people
who
have
seen
the
film
believe
it
is
Bachchan's
best
till
date.
Do
you
feel
the
same
considering
his
repertoire
of
films?
Mr.
Bachchan
is
brilliant
in
whatever
he
does.
I
don't
know
if
this
is
his
best
considering
his
vast
repertoire
of
amazing
performances.
I
wouldn't
want
to
undermine
his
other
performances
considering
the
fact
that
everything
he
has
done
is
so
rich
but
I
can
say
that
you
have
probably
not
seen
him
do
a
role
like
this.
Watching
him
perform
Shakespeare
is
another
high
altogether.
Your
husband's
film
Singh
is
Kinng
is
the
biggest
grosser
this
year.
How
do
you
feel?
I
am
so
excited
(laughs).
We
are
still
reeling
under
it.
In
fact
just
a
couple
of
days
back,
one
of
my
friends
went
to
watch
Singh
is
Kinng
and
said
that
the
theatre
was
80%
full.
I
guess
for
a
film
which
is
in
its
fifth
week,
this
is
simply
amazing.
A
lot
of
people
feel
you
are
choosy
when
it
comes
to
picking
up
your
roles.
Is
that
true?
Yes,
I
am
very
choosy.
When
I
get
offered
a
role,
what
I
look
at
is
the
fact
that
it
has
to
be
something
which
really
pushes
me
as
an
actor
to
give
my
best.
The
kind
of
work
I
have
done,
somehow
knowingly
or
unknowingly,
I
have
always
picked
special
work.
I
may
not
have
50
films
to
boast
of
in
my
career
but
the
5
films
that
I
have
are
probably
something
which
a
regular
heroine
would
not
have
done
in
her
entire
career.
So,
I
am
enjoying
the
way
my
career
is
going
and
I
love
acting
a
lot.
At
the
end
of
the
day
that's
what
matters
I
guess
not
the
number
of
roles
I
do.
Films
like
The
Last
Lear
are
special
and
I
would
rather
wait
for
a
while
to
get
a
chance
to
be
a
part
of
such
special
films.
So
how
long
do
fans
have
to
wait
to
you
see
in
action
after
The
Last
Lear?
What's
in
store
after
The
Last
Lear?
Well...I
would
love
to
do
10
films
a
year
(laughs)
but
it
really
depends
on
what
I
am
offered.
I
am
starting
to
shoot
another
film
around
November-December
this
year.
It's
a
very
sweet
simple
love
story
about
a
man
and
a
woman
who
come
from
two
completely
different
backgrounds
and
land
up
spending
one
day
together.
It's
being
directed
by
Barnali
Shukla
(a
first
time
director)
and
is
produced
by
Vipul
Amrutlal
Shah.
Finally,
what
is
the
USP
of
The
Last
Lear?
The
film
has
an
incredible
cast,
it's
directed
by
the
super-talented
Rituparno
Ghosh
and
lastly,
my
character
of
Vandana
is
one
of
the
finest
and
most
intriguing
roles
that
I
have
ever
done.