It's early Thursday evening when we log into a video call to meet actors Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah. The two break into warm hellos. “Looking so lovely!” Shah tells Balan, who is dressed in a blue denim ensemble offset by an oxidised neckpiece. Balan returns the compliment, and Shah, who is in a white kurta, sighs, “Arrey, I am done with designer clothes. I was ready to turn up [for this interview] in my kurta, and they [her team] made me wear all this jewellery.” 

Neither needs jewellery or designer wear. Balan, 43, and Shah, 48, are so comfortable in their skin, the confidence shines through. They are both riding on success, and have for a while. Balan was last seen in Amit Masurkar’s Sherni, a satire on bureaucracy and a cry to save the environment. Shah, who won the hearts of critics and the audience for her performance as a cop in Delhi Crime, a series that won Best Drama Series at the 48th International Emmy Awards, is considered to be on top of her craft.