New Delhi:
Shalini Passi needs no introduction ever since she grabbed million eyeballs on Karan Johar’s Netflix reality show Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives. NDTV’s Arun Singh sat with the woman of the moment for a tete-a-tete at her Delhi residence. Needless to say, the Delhi based art collector and philanthropist, who mesmerized the viewers with her intriguing personality on the show, can turn any conversation into an interesting one with her out-of-the-box insights. On being asked why she prefers Delhi to Mumbai, Shalini began the list referring to her roots – “Delhi is special. Because I was born here. I will always live in Delhi.”
Elaborating more about her hometown, Shalini told Arun Singh, “What I love about Delhi is, our one foot is in tradition and one foot is in contemporary. We have not left our traditions to follow contemporary dreams. For me also, it’s very traditional. Like on Diwali, I would do the way my grandmother would do it. The festivals or the weddings, whatever we do, the way we dress up, are traditional.”
Cracking a typical-Shalini Passi observation, the connoisseur of art, music and culture said “Bombay has no footpath” and cited it as her third reason to pick Delhi over Mumbai. When Arun Singh burst into laughter after hearing this, Shalini said, “Are there? There’s heavy road and a big building. No footpath. In Delhi, we have hedge, quarry, cycling tracks.”
Adding more to her list, Shalini told NDTV, “We have weather like no other. So, in summer you can wear your beautiful linens because Amaltas is blooming. Isn’t it the most beautiful thing? You can have your bhuttas (corns) in monsoon and can dress accordingly. Then you have beautiful autumn. And Delhi winters are legendary. So, we get to enjoy all the seasons – wear the clothes and enjoy the food.”
Shalini Passi is New Delhi based art collector and philanthropist. She has been married to Sanjay Passi. In 2021, Shalini Passi and spouse Sanjay Passi donated Rs 10 crore to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives is a Netflix series based on the lives of four star-wives – Seema Sajdeh (previously married to Sohail Khan), Maheep Kapoor (Sanjay Kapoor’s wife), Bhavana Pandey (wife of Chunky Pandey) and Neelam Kothari (married to Samir Soni). The series showcases the decade-old friendship of Neelam, Maheep, Seema and Bhavana. The series is an amalgamation of fact and fiction that contribtutes to the drama. The third season has three new entrants – Shalini Passi, Riddhima Kapoor Sahani and Kalyani Saha Chawla.
