On a normal day in Hadley, Mass, 18-year-old University of Massachusetts Amherst student, Shailee Shah walked into Taco Bell and did not expect to meet two people that knew of her family all the way from India. Shah’s parents hail from Bombay, India and moved to the United States in 1983, right after they were married. Although Shah was born in the U.S. and lives in the small town of Reading, Mass, she has a very strong connection to the country of India that most people cannot relate to. Most of her family still lives there and she tries to visit the country at least once a year.
On that typical day in Taco Bell, Shah met an Indain couple that was from Ahemdabad, Gujrat which is the area of India that her family is from. Shah asked them if they had ever heard of her grandfather, Taarak Mehta, who writes one of the most famous television shows in India. The couple immediately recognized the name and said they were just about to drive home and watch his show.
Shah’s grandfather, Taarak Mehta’s greatest achievement is writing the hit show “Taarak Metha Ka Ooltah Chashmah.” The title translates literally into “Flipped Glasses” which is interpreted by Shah as “looking at the world in a different, and more comical perspective.” The show was named the most watched TV series in India in August 2010, and it is, by far, the longest running daily comedy show on Indian television.
One Indian television review website describes watching the show as “The moment you enter it, your head goes into a spin deciding who is funnier than whom."
Shah is following in her family’s footsteps and pursuing a theater degree at UMass. Because Shah has such strong connections to people in the entertainment business and Bollywood, India’s more theatrical and exaggerated version of Hollywood, she is confident that her degree will take her far.
Unlike many of her classmates, Shah does not plan on making it big on Broadway, or staring in the future blockbusters of the century. She says “Because of the connections I have within my family, I feel like I would have a better chance in India.” She is making plans early because just last year, she was given a dual overseas citizenship to both India and the United States. “I plan on living there for at least a year, if not more, after graduation,” she says.
She also says that she is more interested in Bollywood than Hollywood because the productions are much different. The typical Bollywood production includes a large amount of dancing as well as acting and large musical numbers that are usually drawn out and contain many spectacular costumes and props. These types of musical numbers would be considered too over-the-top for even some of Broadway’s most gaudy musicals.
Shah has been dancing for all of her life, but she is not trained in the typical styles of ballet or tap. She has been trained in classical Indian dancing and still continues it in College through Dadak, which is an Indian fusion dance team on the UMass campus.
Shah recently flew to India for yet another visit, but this time it was for work and not play. She secured a role of the main character’s daughter named Shreya, in the film “Saptapadi”. It is a part-time role because her character is a student who is studying abroad and just coming home for a short visit.
Shah stayed for a week of filming, while making the sacrifice of missing classes here in the U.S. She explained “There were so many camera men, and people were doing my hair and makeup for me. It didn’t feel real!”
The main actress in this movie is a family friend who lives in India, and she suggested that Shah would be perfect for the role. Shah says that she hopes to build up her resume of productions, and this will certainly help.
But because Shah is working towards a degree in theater, there are always many critics. Because the theater and acting industry is such a difficult business to get started in, and even stay in, there are many people that question her goals in life. Shah says “’I’m going to go for it and always think of a backup because it’s never guaranteed.”
When asked what she said to people who question her goals Shah said “I say that it’s something I really want to do, and I feel that it’s in the realm of possibility for me.”
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