Shilpa Shirodkar says she was called ‘fat, jinxed’ in 90s: ‘Lost Chaiyya Chaiyya as I was considered too fat’

“Well, who would ever want to lose out on Chaiyya Chaiyya… But yes, Farah Khan had come with the song and she said they were considering me for it. But then they thought I was too fat so they opted for Malaika,” she said.

 

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The actor, known for her films like Hum, Khuda Gawah, Aankhen, Gopi Kishan and Mrityudand, however, said she does not recall if her body type came in the way of audiences’ love.

“I really don’t remember if my weight or the way I looked decided on the success or love I got from the industry or my fans. It never mattered in the 90s. We worked on numerous projects at any one time, we worked round the clock and did many shifts.”

But Shilpa Shirodkar, whose last feature film outing was Gaja Gamini in 2000, wondered how would things pan out if she were to debut as an actor today. “If I had to debut in today’s time I don’t think I would get work. Imagine in the 90s they called me fat, abhi God knows what they would call me.”

Shilpa also said she was written off but Mithun Chakraborty came to her aid. “Mithun da was the reason I am working in this industry. When I lost out on Souten Ki Beti and Boney Kapoor’s then titled Jungle, the industry had wrote me off as a jinx. It was dada who got me a role in Bhrashtachar and my journey in this wonderful industry began.”

On the first episode of Malaika Arora’s Disney Plus Hotstar show, Moving In With Malaika, Farah Khan had revealed that not just Shilpa Shirodkar, but even Shilpa Shetty was considered for the song. She had said, “You’re the Chaiyya Chaiyya girl. But luckily for you, some five heroines had refused to climb on the train. Malaika was nowhere on the radar. We approached Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Shilpa Shirodkar, and 2-3 other people.”