Actor Shalini Pandey was a part of the recently released controversial film Maharaj. The Sidharth P Malhotra film features Aamir Khan’s son Junaid Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, and Sharvari Wagh in lead roles. Based on the 1862 Maharaj Libel case, the film focuses on the case of Jadunath Maharaj, a religious leader, who was accused of exploiting women under the guise of spiritual service. In a recent interview, actor Shalini Pandey shared her experience filming the horrific ‘Charan seva’ scene for the film and how it affected her mentally.
Shalini Pandey On ‘Charan Seva’ Scene In Maharaj
Shalini Pandey played the role of Kishori, a woman who was manipulated and sexually harassed by a spiritual guru, a denominative Maharaj played by Jaideep Ahlawat. The scandalous scene showcased how the religious guru exploited women in the name of ‘Charan Seva’ which was a social evil of that era. Shalini Pandey’s Kishori is shown as a naive girl who does not even realise that she is being exploited in the name of religious practice (no thanks to patriarchy and conditioning). It is only much later that she learns that what she believed to be a religious practice was nothing but sexual exploitation. In a recent interview with Bollywood Hungama, Shalini described that she is very sensitive and often avoids reading the news online as it affects her.
The actor shared that when she was shooting the horrifying sex scene, she did not realise that it would end up affecting her. Shalini Pandey recalled how after the filming she began feeling anxious and refused to be closed room. Sharing that co-actor Jaideep Ahlawat was very understanding about her state of mind, the Maharaj star revealed that one doesn’t understand the pain and struggle of women who go through such things unless one feels it themself. Shalini also pointed out that she first thought that her character Kishori was stupid for believing such things but it wasn’t until she lived her character that she realised that Kishori didn’t know any better due to her conditioning and considered the exploitation to be a blessing. The actor concluded by saying that she hoped that the real Kishori realised what happened to her was sexual assault at the end.