Popular actress Shalini Pandey has been carving a niche with her presence in acclaimed OTT projects like Maharaj and Dabba Cartel, among others. Most recently, she shared a shocking incident from the initial phase of her career when a South filmmaker entered her van while she was changing.
During a recent conversation with interview, Shalini Pandey emphasized having boundaries as she shared her experience of working with good and horrid men in her life— on screen, off-screen, and within the crew. She reflected on “reality” as she talked about encountering “chauvinistic men” in the industry.
The actress stated that she was a complete outsider and didn’t have anyone to go back to in such situations. She said as she looks back, she is glad she was like that as she was naïve and had “hard boundaries,” further admitting that she would snap.
She explained her point by sharing a shocking incident, recalling, “Very early in my career, I was doing a South film. The director walks into my van. He didn’t knock, and I was changing. He just opened the door and entered.”
Shalini stated that she had done only one film at the time, and people would usually advise one to be “sweet and not rub people off the wrong way.” She shared she was told that people wouldn’t offer her films otherwise. However, in response to the director’s shocking behavior, she just yelled at him.
She recalled her first reaction, expressing, “As soon as he entered, I wasn’t even thinking. It was just a reaction, and I yelled. I absolutely lost my sh*t. I was 22. Once he left, people told me that ‘I shouldn’t have yelled.’ But, there has to be manners.”
The actress articulated her belief, emphasizing that it was something she carried with her. She confessed that she would’ve come across as an angry person, but she mentioned she had to do certain things to protect herself.
She said she has now learned how to navigate such things in life. “Later on, I realized how to manipulate such things rather than just snap at people,” she remarked.
Shalini Pandey was last seen in Netflix’s Dabba Cartel, led by Shana Azmi.
