Shamita Shetty: You're in an industry that says out of sight is out of mind

MUMBAI: Actress Shamita Shetty claims that right from the beginning of her career she was never into quantity when it came to signing films.

Although she started with the multistarrer blockbuster "Mohabbatein" in 2000, Shamita saw only around a half a dozen releases in Bollywood that gave her acting roles over the last two decades, with her last big screen outing being the 2007 dud "Cash". Shamita, whose strongest role is perhaps in the 2005 Emraan Hashmi-starrer "Zeher", had a couple of hit dance numbers like "Chori per chori" ("Saathiya") and "Sharara sharara" ("Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai") in her early years.

It took her 13 years since "Cash" to return with an acting role to the Hindi screen in the web series "Black Widows" last year. She now has Sushrut Jain's "The Tenant" lined up.

"Right from the beginning quantity was really not something that I was attracted to and if I was, maybe staying relevant would have been an important factor for me. So, I don't think I have really focussed on that," Shamita told IANS.

"Unfortunately, you are in an industry that says out of sight is out of mind, and I think that happened with me so many times," she added.

"Initially, may be it affected me but now I really don't care because there is always something or the other I am doing, and as long as I am happy as a person I think that is the most important thing for me. I am utilising my time that is helping me learn something as an individual and a human being and helping me grow as a person. I am fine with it," she declared.