Actress Shilpa Shirodkar known for movies like ‘Hum’, Gopi Kishan’, ‘Aankhen’, stepped away from the spotlight for 13 years to focus on her family. She married Aparesh Ranjit and lived in UK after leaving her flourishing film career. While people think it’s a sacrifice made by her, in a recent interview, she has praised her husband for the sacrifices, he has made. In 2013, after returning to Mumbai. Looking back on the years she spent away from Bollywood, Shilpa said, “I feel those 13 years were a learning phase of my life, and it was a very beautiful experience. I think the bond I share with my daughter today might not have existed if I hadn’t taken that step. Living outside India is very tough — it made me very strong.”
She then shared how her husband supported her through tough times, “He has always told me that the sacrifices I made for him, despite coming from the background I did, are commendable. But I give him full credit. When I returned to India in 2009 after my parents passed away, I was emotionally vulnerable. He left his rising career for me and said, ‘I think we need to go back home.’ So we left everything and came back to India.”Grateful for his unwavering support, Shilpa added, “I’ll always give him that credit. People say behind every successful man, there is a woman. But I always tell him, behind every successful woman, there is a loving and wonderful man who sets aside his male ego and walks beside her.”Later, ‘Bigg Boss’ came her way and that was the turning point. Shilpa recalled, He asked me what I would do by going back. I told him, ‘If I stay here, I’ll go crazy.’ His job involves a lot of travel, and Anushka (our daughter) was in Scotland. It was very lonely. And as you get older, you need people, people to talk to, to listen to. I told him Anushka had gotten an internship in Hyderabad, so I decided to go with her on a one-way ticket and try my luck. I told myself I’d call everyone in the industry and ask for work.”But things didn’t click right away. She added, “I called a lot of people. They picked up my calls, but they didn’t have the time to meet because I had nothing to offer them. I was disappointed and told my husband that nothing was working out, and I booked a return ticket for September 28.”Just when she thought it was over, life surprised her. Shilpa recalled, “The moment I booked the return ticket, I got a call from Bigg Boss, asking if I’d be interested. And I said yes. I’ve always liked Bigg Boss, it was like a dream come true. And secondly, I was getting work!”Her husband kept her grounded even then. She said, “I told my husband, and he said, ‘Don’t cancel your ticket until you sign the contract.’ I agreed. Then the talks started happening, and I told the team, ‘Let me know for sure, only then I’ll cancel my ticket.’ And they immediately said, ‘Yes, of course you’re doing it.’”Shilpa went on to become a strong contender in ‘Bigg Boss 18’, making it to the top six. Go to Source
