Shefali Shah and her tryst with criminals

Mumbai, May 25 (IANS) Actress Shefali Shah, who went to the extent of meeting an under-trial prisoner in Thane Jail to give authenticity to her role in the forthcoming film 'Kucch Luv Jaisaa', discovered that there is a human within every criminal and one can easily connect with that side of their personality.

'It was daunting and intimidating, but finally it was like two strangers meeting and communicating at a very human level. It was just like meeting another person in a mall or airport lounge. We are from different ideologies, but we were sharing on topics we could talk about,' Shefali told IANS.

From being a TV actress to character artist in films to a full-fledged actress, Shefali has come a long way. In Barnali Ray Shukla's directorial debut 'Kucch Luv Jaisaa', her character bumps into a criminal (Rahul Bose) on the run and they end up spending a whole day together.

The 36-year-old actor wanted to live that situation in real life.

'I have lived a protected life. So I wanted to break out of my comfort zone and know someone who is trying to intimidate me. I wanted to put myself in a situation which could be dicey. It started with that thought,' said Shefali whose performances in 'Satya' and 'Waqt: The race against time' had been highly appreciated.

This her second film with Rahul after Bengali director Aparna Sen's '15 Park Avenue'.

'It was great working with Rahul. He complements me. I can't imagine anyone else in Rahul's role,' said Shefali.