A still from the film Peepli Live where Shalini Vatsa (encircled) played the wife of protagonist Nattha; (above) Shalini at her residence. Telegraph pictures

Patna, Sept. 6: She was a bright student. Her parents wanted her to be an academician. But she insisted on acting.

Right she was. The success of her maiden Hindi film has made her father, Bachoo Sinha, a retired professor of Patna University, proud.

Meet Shalini Vatsa. A Patna girl, she is making waves in the Bollywood for her role in Peepli Live.

Shalini played the role of Dhaniya, a poor woman, in the film. People who matter in the Hindi film circuit appreciated her acting.

The list includes the name of Aamir Khan, who told all the actors collectively that he loved their performance in the film. Shalini’s outstanding performance and subsequent appreciation resulted into film offers pouring in. But this 30-something Bihari actress has her foot firmly on ground.

She is in no hurry to grab roles just for the sake of adding more films in her kitty.

“I am getting enquiries for work from several places. But I will accept offers only when they have the meat I am looking for,” she told The Telegraph over phone from Mumbai.

Married to a theatre artist Himashu Tyagi, who played a cameo in Oscar award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, Shalini intends to continue with her theatre shows with Habib Tanvir’s the Naya Theatre.

“Theatre has been my first love and I will continue to be a part of it even if I make it big in the Bollywood,” she said.

There appears to be logic in her claim. She has been associated with stage from her school days as lot of theatre personalities used to visit her home because of her parents’ association with IPTA.

“She grew up in an environment where theatre people were regulars. She picked up an interest in acting from there,” Shalini’s father said.

Shalini started acting while studying in Patna’s St Joseph’s Academy and continued with it when she later joined Patna Women’s College.

She made a foray into professional stage while studying in Delhi University and there has been no looking back since then.

The urge to become a better actor took her to Barry John’s Imago Acting School. She later joined Habib Tanvir’s Naya Theatre and played important roles in plays like Charandas Chor, Raj Rakta and Zehreeli Hawa.Shalini never planned to join the Hindi film industry till she got a call from Aamir Khan Productions Private Limited for audition for the role of Dhaniya. “Though they had shortlisted six actresses, I was selected. It means they had liked my performance during the audition,” Shalini said. Sharing her success mantra, the Peepli Live actress said: “Keep working hard and persevere.”Shalini’s proud father, however, feels sad that his better half could not see the success of their daughter. Shalini’s mother, Sudha Rani, passed away in April this year.