Shalini Pandey: There is nobody telling me if I should do a film or not

Shalini Pandey’s Hindi debut, Jayeshbhai Jordaar (2022) might not have worked commercially, but she has already moved on to her next. Pandey will be seen opposite actor Aamir Khan’s son Junaid, who will make his debut in Maharaj.

Confirming the same, Pandey says, “I can’t talk much about it, but we have finished the shooting. It was a nice experience with Junaid and I felt mature and confident as an actor. I am somebody who is really curious. I did my bit in Jayeshbhai and learnt technical skills of acting. This time, in Maharaj, I could enjoy the process more.”

Pandey states that she has no godfather in the industry, adding, “There is nobody telling me if I should do a film or not.”

Talking about how she chose Jayeshbhai Jordaar, the 29-year-old shares, “I didn’t know I was auditioning for it until I met our producer Maneesh Sharma. That’s when I got to know it’s a film opposite Ranveer Singh. As an actor, if you are offered a film opposite Ranveer, then it’s anyway a yes, but I wanted to read the script.”

She recalls Sharma telling her that her character would be pregnant. “I agreed and went with my gut instinct. It has been wrong also, but that’s the only thing I have. I loved Jayeshbhai and said why not. That’s what I look forward to with every project now. I can’t control the outcome, but I can at least learn. Maharaj happened when I had just Jayeshbhai. I read the script, and again there was the gut feeling, ‘why not?’,” she ends.