Actor-turned-author Shefali Shah discussed her memoir, The Audacity Of Being, at the Godrej Literature Live! Mumbai LitFest 2026 on Sunday, October 25. In an hour-long session moderated by journalist Jane Borges, she described her writing process, read the first chapter aloud, and explained why she avoided sensational material in telling her own story.
Revisiting the past through memory and detail
Shefali said that returning to past events brought back more than the facts. She described how looking through an old photo album can revive smells, colours and the feelings attached to a moment. Her approach, as she put it, was to go back to specific experiences and tell them honestly, reflecting on how she sees those moments today.
Rejecting scandal as a selling point
The conversation turned to celebrity memoirs, which often lean on scandal to draw readers. Shefali said scandal holds attention only briefly and then fades, and she was not interested in building the book around it. She also said some stories belong to other people, and she did not feel entitled to reveal them in a book that is about her own life.
A middle-class start and a long road to acting
The memoir traces Shefali's path from a middle-class upbringing to a career as a celebrated Bollywood actor. Rather than presenting success as a polished narrative, she opens with her insecurities and vulnerabilities and treats them as part of what shaped her. The book was launched in September, and the festival appearance gave audiences a chance to hear her account of the experiences behind it.