Destiny's child

Suman Sharma chats with Shalini Pandey, who was recently seen opposite Ranveer Singh in Jayeshbhai Jordaar

Shalini Pandey, who recently appeared opposite Ranveer Singh in Jayeshbhai Jordaar (2022), might be a newcomer to those who haven’t watched her South movies. She became an instant sensation down South after the release of the Telugu film Arjun Reddy (2017), which became a cult classic. She then appeared in cameos in period dramas like Mahanati (2018) and N. T. R. Kathanayakudu (2019). 118 (2019), her next Telugu film, also became a box office success. She appeared alongside Madhavan and Anushka Shetty in the bilingual Silence (2020). Her first Hindi film was Bamfaad (2020), an OTT release where she appeared alongside Paresh Rawal’s son, Aditya Rawal. While Jayeshbhai Jordaar didn’t perform as well as expected at the box office, the audience lauded Shalini for boldly playing a pregnant girl in her first wide release. “A lot of people have called my bigscreen debut in Bollywood a bold choice because I’m pregnant in the film. It is true that I had to be a certain body type to look convincing as a pregnant woman. It is true that most would choose a glitzier big screen debut and look their best. But I’m not one of them. I have always focused on doing roles that have something to say, something to do, or some impact to make,” she explains.