Actress Shilpa Shukla was in town to attend the Times Power Women 2018 Awards. She took time out to tell PT about her upcoming projects and the noble task that she has undertaken in her village for the welfare and education of girls. Excerpts:I have done a solo stage performance — a monologue — for 55 minutes. It’s based on Dario Fo’s play, A Woman Alone. The audience loved it. It’s our duty not to make the stage a boring place. Stage gives me a sort of catharsis, which is very important for an artiste. A movie can’t substitute that feeling.It’s true I get certain kind of scripts that I have to filter out. Art for me is mostly meditative, it comes from a spiritual space. I don’t enjoy working in setups that are commercially driven. But that doesn’t mean I’m choosy. Sometimes, I even suggest others for the part if I feel so.I’m not in a rush for anything. So far, I was focusing on my plays. Digital age is going to be the future, we all saw it coming. Now, so many filmmakers will get a chance to tell their stories. Indian movies run on a formula. An open market is always a good option.I would not inspire them to go ahead right away. They must be mature enough to take on the responsibility, gain some experience and then they can try their luck. If you’re opting for a short cut, that’s not fair. There’s a thin line between dignity of a person and dignity of a character. And I think women have to be very careful before taking up a role.I didn’t play a grey character in Khamosh Pani . My upcoming movie Love doesn’t see me in a negative role. My play Woman Not Alone also doesn’t depict any grey shade. Hopefully, there will be more positive characters for me in the future.There’s a girls’ school and we are facing some issues with the state government. You will be surprised to know that they didn’t want to celebrate Teacher’s Day because of unnecessary societal norms, but we made it happen. I was in tears to see the kids happy.Harmony prevails. Back in 2005, when I was in Boston, I got to witness a gay wedding, where two women got married. I have also given my voice for a movie on transgenders called Rainbows Are Real. So, I am happy now.( Laughs) I am single. But I wonder why is marriage so important. I have decided to live my life just for now.My mother is my inspiration. She was the one to take me for Odissi classes and inspired me to sing. To have a mother like that, who lets you do whatever you want, is a blessing. These are the people who have faith in you and your talents.I have two movies coming up this year — Bombairiya and Love. Bombairiya was made in 2015, but will be out now. The latter was completed in 2014, but will be releasing this year. It is a political farce that also stars Radhika Apte Ravi Kishan and more. I’m playing a politician in this movie.I have met many noble ladies of Patna who are working with the same vision as mine. That’s liberation. I want to tell my fans that we should all be accepting, non-judgmental, open towards each other and should be tolerant.— Alisha Shireen and Saurav Singh

Stay updated with all the Latest Patna headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.