Indian actress Shalini Pandey reveals dark side of film industry

(Web Desk): Famous South Indian actress Shalini Pandey has revealed the darker side of the film industry, sharing a distressing incident.

The actress, who gained fame in 2017 with the film ‘Arjun Reddy’ alongside Vijay Deverakonda, shared how a South Indian film director intruded into her personal space.

Shalini explained in an interview, "I was completely new to the film industry and had no film background. One day, when I was changing clothes in my vanity van, the director entered without knocking."

She further shared, "I was only 22 and had no experience. People always told me, 'Speak sweetly, don’t offend anyone, or you won’t get films.' But when the director did that, my reaction was natural—I screamed."

Shalini revealed that after the incident, people scolded her for screaming. However, she stated, "Respect is important. Just because I’m new doesn’t mean you can enter without knocking. Later, I realized that I adopted this behavior to protect myself, but people started seeing me as angry."

Shalini admitted that after facing gender discrimination and misbehavior early in her career, she learned to set boundaries. She added that now she knows how to handle such situations better.

Shalini Pandey rose to fame in 2017 with ‘Arjun Reddy’, after which she worked in quality films like ‘Dabba Cartel’ alongside renowned actresses like Shabana Azmi, Jyothika, and Nimesha Sajjan.