Study of quasifission reaction mechanism and shell effects in compound nuclei has important implications on the synthesis of superheavy elements (SHE). Using the major accelerator facilities available in India, quasifission reaction mechanism and shell effects in compound nuclei were studied extensively. Fission fragment mass distribution was used as a probe. Two factors, viz., nuclear orientation and direction of mass flow of the initial dinuclear system after capture were seen to determine the extent of quasifission. From the measurement of fragment mass distribution in 𝛼-induced reaction on actinide targets, it was possible to constrain the excitation energy at which nuclear shell effect washed out.