Shilpa Shirodkar Recalls Being Labelled ‘Panauti’ After Two Failed Launches: ‘They Said I Was Jinxed’
Breaking into Bollywood has never been easy — and for Shilpa Shirodkar, the early years of her career were marked by dashed hopes, shelved films, and cruel industry labels. In a recent conversation with Zoom, the Kishen Kanhaiya and Hum actor opened up about the setbacks that nearly derailed her career before it even began.
Shilpa’s big break was supposed to come in 1986, with Sawan Kumar Tak’s Sautan Ki Beti. “On the 9th of August, I did my mahurat at Filmalaya Studios. It was one of the biggest launch pads. I was playing the title role,” she recalled. However, the project was shelved two years later. “Sawan ji said, ‘I’m not making the film. If you get something from outside, take it.’”
Hoping for another shot, her mother reached out to famed photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha, who connected Shilpa with producer Boney Kapoor and his father Surinder Kapoor. She was almost cast opposite Sanjay Kapoor in a film titled Jungle. But the project was scrapped and replaced by Prem, and Shilpa was no longer the right fit. Another opportunity gone.
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Soon, the whispers began. “People started calling me a panauti,” she shared. “Whenever I signed a big film, it got shelved. They said I was jinxed.” Eventually, a well-wisher intervened and approached Mithun Chakraborty. “He said, ‘Dada, this girl’s two films have been shelved. Please launch her — the industry is calling her all sorts of names.’”
Shilpa finally made her screen debut in Ramesh Sippy’s Bhrashtachar (1989), in which she played a visually impaired girl alongside Mithun and Rekha. The film marked a turning point. She went on to star in a string of commercial hits in the early 1990s, including Kishen Kanhaiya (1990), Trinetra (1991), Hum (1991), and later, Khuda Gawah, Aankhen, Pehchaan, Gopi Kishan, Bewafa Sanam, and Mrityudand.
Reflecting on those tough early years, Shilpa credits her resilience to family support. “If you have strong family support, these things don’t matter,” she said, adding that while the industry was quick to dismiss her, her belief in herself never wavered.
