Shilpa Shetty has made her OTT debut with Rohit Shetty’s foray into streaming – Indian Police Force. The series is set inside Rohit Shetty’s Cop Universe and sees Shilpa in the role of the head of Gujarat Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad. In an exclusive chat with DNA, the actress opens up about choosing the project, returning to action after years, and preparing for the role.
Indian Police Force came at a time when Shilpa had a number of other web series offers, the actress tells us. “I had a couple of other offers, one of which was supposed to be headlined by me,” she says, adding, “But I put that all aside to make my OTT debut with Indian Police Force, with Rohit. I thought it would be a great combination, and in an avatar that would make other women really proud.”
The role required Shilpa to look the part as a cop and do some action sequences as well. This meant she had to look toughe. The actress tells us, “Rohit kept telling me ‘I need you to put on a little more weight because when she fights, you have to look tough’. I am actually very lean so I did put on a little weight, leg weight, so that the kick looks powerful. I did what it took for the part. Now, those are also issues because I don’t normaly put on weight. I am an ectomorph.”
Shilpa’s last full-blown foray into action was in 2005 with Anubhav Sinha’s Dus. A lot has changed since then, most importantly that Shilpa is now mother to an 11-year-old who loves action films and shows. “I did this because of my son,” the actress says proudly, explaining, “I didn’t think I would be able to do this because I was really busy when Rohit approached me. I was busy filming Sukhee. It was my son’s reaction to the offer that made me change my mind, not that I didn’t want to work with Rohit. It’s just that there was a lack of time.”
Shilpa says she wanted to take some time off after Sukhee to spend time with her family but her son convinced her to take up Rohit Shetty’s offer. “Sometimes you feel so terrible as a mum that you’d rather leave a great project if you get that extra time. But he actually said ‘come what may you have to do this, I want to see you play this cop. It’s Rohit Shetty’,” she recounts. And the actress is now glad that she did so. “I remember showing him the trailer and he jumped on the bed and said ‘that’s my mom!’ It was the proudest moment for me as a mum and even as an artiste,” she says, beaming.
Indian Police Force also stars Sidharth Malhotra and Vivek Oberoi along with an ensemble cast. The eight-part series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on January 19.
