Actress Helly Shah takes a leap forward and is all set to be featured in an enthralling script, making her debut for an international feature film. The shoot has just been wrapped up and is shot at the outskirts of Jammu – Kashmir. The award-winning actress makes her big-screen debut in Kaya Palat, which is a dark Jammu-set thriller inspired by the true story of rival mafias. She is currently shooting for the Shoaib Nikash Shah-directed film, which also stars Rahat Kazmi, Tariq Khan, Swaroopa Ghosh, Mir Sarwar and Rohil Bhatia. “Kaya Palat is a story-driven film that gave me a new challenge I was looking for and demands a strong performance. The story is very much aimed at the international market, and we are hoping it connects with a cross-cultural audience. My character is going to be very interesting, sarcastic, witty, vulnerable and so much more. The experience of working with such a cast and crew was surreal. The learning has been great. I am really excited for the audience to watch it.” said Helly Shah.
Earlier this year she shot for 23-minute short film Zibah, which is a human-rights based drama that shines a light on the cruelty that is endured by young children in the sub-continent, which includes psychological and physiological trauma. “Cinema is there for entertainment, but I have always believed that films have the power to highlight important social causes and make a positive change. That is what made me want to be part of this project. I feel Zibah is an important film that carved me as an actor. Every project is a new learning but this had a new push to my career.”
The award-winning actress has had a glittering decade-long career starring in globally popular drama serials like Swaragini, which ran for 469 episodes, the 177-episode Sufiyana Pyaar Mera, where she played identical twins and the 313-episode thriller Ishq Mein Marjawan 2. She has appeared on the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9 and starred in music videos, including Ik Kahani, which has been viewed over 21 million times on YouTube since it was released in January, 2022. Helly is actively looking to further expand her acting horizons with web series and international film projects, including Hollywood. “I don’t believe in borders or boundaries, so would like to explore my acting craft around the world and would love to be part of a Hollywood projects if given the chance. As an artist, one would like to be recognised for their character and not from where the come from. Actors like Priyanka Chopra, Irrfan Khan, etc have opened an international market for budding artists like us. Being on the same path, gives me that pat on the back for being able to be recognised at an international platform.”
Kaya Palat and Zibah are both due for release this year and will mark the beginning of an interesting new phase for a popular actress, who has 3.4 million Instagram followers, over five million Facebook subscribers and countless fan clubs dedicated to her across social media. She has regularly been featured in the list of sexiest Asian women and is quickly becoming an icon for a rapidly growing young fan base.
