“A huge validation:” Shefali Shah on receiving Emmy nomination for ‘Delhi Crime Season 2’

By Aarushi Raina
New Delhi [India], September 27 : Actor Shefali Shah is on cloud 9 after bagging a nomination at the prestigious International Emmy Awards 2023 in the Best Performance by an Actress category for her protrayal of DCP Vartika Chaturvedi in Netflix series "Delhi Crime Season 2’.
Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, she shared her excitement on the bagging the Emmy nomination. "I am very excited, just over the moon, very very happy. It’s a huge validation and it’s still sinking in," she told ANI.
Revealing what made her say "yes" to the role within minutes of the script reading for Season 2 of the series, Shefali said, "It just took me 5 minutes to say yes when Richie Mehta first narrated (the script). More than reading out the script, he just detailed what all happened in Delhi at that point of time (after the horrific gangape of a para-medical student in Delhi in 2012, which came to be known as the Nirbhaya case). He briefed me on how the investigation into the Nirbhaya case progressed. And, less than 5 minutes into the reading session, I said I want to do this. It was really as simple as that. It was a decision that came out of my heart. I didn’t give it any thought.“
Sharing more insight into her role of DCP Vartika Chaturved, the actor said, “The thing is that she (her character) is not only bold but also vulnerable. When I read the script, I could feel the wave of helpless rage that swept through the city at the time and the trauma that the victim and her kin went through. After reading the script, I realised there was, in fact, someone who was leading the effort to bring the culprits to justice, and, what's more, it was a woman. The events that followed the incident were like a revolution to me. I knew this was a story that needed to be told. This was a charismatic character and also the lead. No director had pitched a lead role to me before then."
Helmed by Tanuj Chopra, the show starrred Shefali as the protagonist, DCP Vartika Chaturvedi, while Rajesh Tilang, and Rasika Duggal were also cast in lead roles.
Produced by SK Global Entertainment, Golden Karavan and Film Karavan, 'Delhi Crime S2' was inspired by true events.
The first season of the show was based on the Delhi Police's investigation into the infamous 2012 Delhi gangrape. It was the first Indian web series to win an International Emmy Award.
An actor known to easy diverse roles and a wide array of characters with aplomb, Shefali left the audiences spellbound with her magnetic screen presence and brilliant performances in 'Jalsa', 'Human', and 'Darlings' and ’Doctor G, among others. 
Quizzed on her future projects, the actor said, "Hopefully Delhi Crime, Season 3 and a couple of other projects. But all of them are in the scripting stage now."
Apart from Shefali, actor and stand-up comedian Vir Das and actor Jim Sarbh also bagged nominations at the International Emmy Awards 2023.
Vir Das bagged a nomination for his comedy special ‘Vir Das: Landing’, which premiered on the OTT giant Netflix. He is competing with Le Flambeau from France, El Encargado from Argentina, and Derry Girls Season 3 from the UK in the category he has been nominated in.
Jim Sarbh has been nominated for Best Performance by an Actor for his role in 'Rocket Boys'.
He will be competing against Ustavo Bassani of Argentina, Martin Freeman of the UK, and Jonas Karlsson of Sweden.