Shefali Shah on her unexpected kiss with Roshan Mathew in Darlings: It’s a lovely moment, but took me by surprise

The film initially drops a hint that Roshan Mathew's character Zulfi is attracted to Alia Bhatt's Badru in Darlings.

Shefali Shah and Roshan Mathew in a still from Darlings

Darlings the most recent movie starring Alia Bhatt and Shefali Shah, has received accolades from all quarters since it was made available on Netflix last week. Both audiences and critics have praised director Jasmeet K. Reen's dark comedy. The tale and the scenario, which is packed with turns and twists, have received appreciation from many. During a recent interaction with Hindustan Times, Shefali Shah and Roshan Mathew discussed one such shock that is causing a lot of discussions.

You might not want to continue reading and partially spoil the movie if you haven't seen it yet. In the movie Darlings the mother-daughter duo Badru (Alia) and Shamshu (Shefali) exact revenge on Badru's violent husband, Hamza (Vijay Varma), with Zulfi's (Roshan Mathew) hesitant assistance. Although it is hinted throughout the movie that Zulfi likes Badru, it is eventually made clear that he has feelings for the mother rather than the daughter. At a pivotal moment, Shefali's character gives him a kiss in a sequence that is both funny and emotional.

Many people have been discussing how naturally the film contains a kiss between an older woman and a younger man without making a big deal out of it because of the unexpected nature of the kiss and how it was filmed.

Shefali comments on the moment, stating that the scene really caught her off guard when she read the screenplay. There are two instances that completely caught her off guard. When one visits Shamshu's history, one finds one is this and one is at the conclusion; this was a surprise for the actor.

The scene occurs when Shamshu determines this is the best method to silence Zulfi because he is threatening to tell the police about the women holding Hamza captive. Shefali said that it has to be handled that way because it's such a nice and delicate moment. She does it because she wants to stop this man from talking since, otherwise, he will continue to act absurdly. But the actor was surprised by how she went about it. In her opinion, it's a beautiful moment.

The intensity of the scene, according to Roshan, is due to how simply it is captured on camera. Like Shefali noted earlier, having a wonderful statement and saying it clearly has the biggest impact. He explained that because it recently happened, this moment has a huge impact.

The actor continues by saying that the moment truly improved his understanding of his role. There, Zulfi begins to make sense to him. If one looks at the actor, they will see a young man who thinks it is simple to be right or wrong, and he will always choose to be right. Then, all of a sudden, he witnesses these two people, whom he likes, acting improperly. He doesn't know whether he supports them or not. How much love must there be for Zulfi to let go of his moral compass and whatever else he believed to be in black and white and enter a world of grey with them? So, for Roshan, this moment makes sense there.

The sequence required several takes since it was so spontaneous, and at least one of them, Shefali remembers, went hilariously wrong. She recalls that she raced to kiss Roshan after one of the bullets and the bag she was carrying smacked her face, and they both kissed the bag.

The actor continues by saying that she is ultimately pleased with how nicely the moment has been handled in the movie. Shefali claimed that it also depends on how director Jasmeet K. Reen and DOP Anil Mehta filmed it. There is no "showsha" in the situation, and it just pours.

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