One of the most versatile artists in Bollywood, Shail Chaturvedi was a poet, satirist, humorist, and lyricist, who was known for his work in the political satire movies during the 70s and the 80s. Having started his career as a lecturer at the Allahabad University, Shail started taking part in several Kavil sammelan (poetry gatherings) and soon rose to fame with his tongue-in-cheek political commentary. He later became a regular at the annual Kavi Sammelan on Doordarshan, a state-run TV channel.

Having started his acting career with the 1971 feature film, Uphaar, over the years, in his illustrious career, Shail Chaturvedi starred in more than 15 films mostly as character artists. Few of his most notable appearances on the silver screen include Chitchor (1976), Payal Ki Jhankaar (1980), Narsimha (1991), Dhanwan (1993) and Kareeb (1998).

Apart from working in films, Shail has also worked extensively in TV series. After his maiden appearances on the small screen with the popular sitcom, Zabaan Sambhalke in 1993, he subsequently starred in series as Shrimaan Shrimati (1995), Byomkesh Bakshi (1977) and Kakaji Kahin.