New Delhi: Actor Shefali Shah, known for Delhi Crime, Darlings, and Monsoon Wedding, has written her first book.
Shah announced the book, The Audacity of Being: A Sort-of Memoir, a title that echoes former US President Barack Obama’s 2006 book The Audacity of Hope, in an Instagram post on Tuesday. The actor joked that she once got zero in dictation, filled her essays with ellipses, and did not always think sentences needed to begin with capital letters.
“It’s absurd that I was audacious enough to write not just a monthly budget but an actual book,” she wrote.
“Yes, I wrote a book. An actual, physical, hold-it-in-your-hands kind of book.”
Shah said her writing began as stray musings scribbled in diaries, behind tickets and alongside receipts. She eventually began sharing some of them on social media because it offered something a diary could not: a response.
“I never expected anyone to read it, let alone appreciate it. Surprisingly, you did,” she wrote. “Suddenly, my conversations weren’t one-sided. You responded, replied, indulged my banter, and encouraged me to write some more.”
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‘Absolute honesty’
Bloomsbury describes The Audacity of Being as a “memoir-in-essays”. The book looks back at Shah’s journey from theatre and television to films and streaming shows, and at some of the roles that have shaped her three-decade acting career.
The memoir also moves beyond her work. Shah writes about love, divorce and remarriage, friendships, parenting, body image, creative self-doubt, and ageing as an actor in the Hindi film industry.
“Nothing in my life warrants a memoir. And yet I chose to tell a story only I have the copyrights to,” she wrote. Shah said she could not promise an “ingenious” book, but could promise “absolute honesty”.
Several Instagram users welcomed the announcement. “Happy to see this. Adding this book to my cart,” one wrote. Another said, “Ma’am, I’m really happy to see this. Ordering it right away. More power to you.”
The post also drew some bitter reactions. “All that audacity is pointless if you’re making or supporting propaganda movies for quick buck and favors,” a comment read.
The 224-page hardback, published by Bloomsbury, is priced at Rs 599 and is available for pre-order on Amazon and Crossword. It will be released in India on 1 October.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)