I ALWAYS BUY MY COSTUMES FOR TV SERIAL"- SHILPA

( BY N.THYAGARAJAN)

Shilpa, is the only small-screen artiste who loves to buy costumes for her different roles she had been doing for various mega soaps. She feels, when some one offers her to appear in rich man's daughter role, she could alone do the role with the required costumes purchased by her from her own money. For costumes, at any time she never depended upon the producers. Claims, this charming artiste, " I have purchased everything for my Nandini Devi role in Nimmadhi. The entire production unit praised me when I appeared as a rich girl".

Shilpa is tall with fair in colour. Her elder sister Nirmala, who have decided to support Shilpa for her acting career is the brain behind for the selection of costumes. From hair pins, to colourful sarees, the TV production companies sometime deceived the eyes of the viewers, that Shilpa was acting for a big budgeted companies.

Shilpa who frequents to Mumbai with her elder sister Nirmala for her costumes says, " My dressings and even rechristening my name as Shilpa from P.S.Mary Teresa were my own choices". She narrates how she changed her name to Shilpa. " I have moved by the name eversince I joined in the Holy Angels Convent. A sort of attraction I felt, when my intimate friend was called by everyone as Shilpa. I was waiting for an opportunity when I can change my name to Shilpa. The time was ripe, when the Jaya TV selected me to anchor Hit List Movies programme and College Special programs. I appeared in the channel with the name Shilpa. With the sheer luck as it would have been with the change of my name to Shilpa the Jaya TV Channel gave me a privilege to come for the anchoring after attending my school classes" says Shilpa in an interview to the TV Guide.

On seeing Shilpa's anchoring, she started receiving offers from Vijay TV Channel to do Pamban Super Hit film songs.

She recalls, of the all the serials she did so far, AVM's Nimmadhi gave her good name, She did the role of a rich man's daughter Nandhini Devi whose penchant for marrying her own aunt's son when not fructified, she takes the revenge against the hero. The story revolves around the vengeful act of Nandhini which ruins her upliftment and finally she dies after tendering her apologies to the entire family.

The character catapulted her with the offers to act in various tv soaps. Now Shilpa is very busy with the schedules of Bandham, and telugu soap Vennilamma for the Gemini TV Channel. She plays the second sister role with Sarath Babu as her father. She is acting in DD's Thamarai mega serial directed by Dhanraj.

When asked about her future plans, she said, " Though acting for serials had given me pleasure, I feel this is not the end of my career. I am very much interested to direct serials too. I have learnt the nuances of technical aspect of producting serials and if anyone is prepared to give me a chance I want to take up the assignment".

When asked about her dance in the Star Vijay TV Jodi number 1, she said that the programme was a good flatform to all the artistes who appeared in the first round. "I appeared on the stage with Bharath Kalyan, but could not win the prize. But, we are all not professional dancers, we rehearsed day and night and we did something to get applause for the dance"

Going back to her costume-talk she said," I always used Apoorva type of sarees and I always used original silk sarees with different hair designers, jewellery and many other things that a woman could do to beautify herself. I want to do the roles always like using my costumes. I always like different colours, but I am very particular using Ink Blue colour", says Shilpa.

She opened one of her rooms and showed the costumes were dumped inside the room. " I thank my parents and Nirmala " for lending me a good support for my acting career.