Shalini Pandey answers if she would have been a better fit for Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Kabir Singh: ‘Different energies…’

When asked if she could have done a better job in the remake as well, since she was already familiar with the character of Preeti, Shalini says, “I don’t know. I have never thought of it this way. I took that film as a completely different film. Also, I believe that with two people there are different energies and vibes and also like chemistry, it is different with different people. I don’t have an opinion if I should have been there, or if I would have portrayed it.”

The young actor, further added, “I have done it and I did it a certain way and that was Preethi for me but what Kiara and Shahid in terms of Kabir Singh would bring to the table would be completely their own and it’s refreshing, different. He (director Sandeep Reddy Vanga) is making the same film but it has two different people coming together and getting a whole new chemistry out there. So, I don’t think I thought of it like that, I enjoyed their chemistry and stance on it.”

Shalini made her Hindi acting debut with 2022 film Jayeshbhai Jordaar alongside Ranveer Singh. While her plan was to always work in Bollywood, her beginnings with South cinema also felt like a blessing to her.

“Honestly, I always wanted to become an actor. So for me, this industry, that industry didn’t matter. I come from Jabalpur; it’s a small town. I was never really allowed to watch a lot of films because my dad is from defence and there was never a film-y culture in our household. As someone who wanted to become an actor I just needed a reason for something to happen. I was the most excited person to know that someone is interested and I would love to go for it. There was just excitement and curiosity,” she says.

Shalini is currently shooting for a Netflix project and is tight-lipped about it. But she has already finished shooting for two other projects, one of them being for Amazon Prime.

As for south industry, she says, “In South, I would love to get back to the industry because that’s where I started from. Also, the first love you get from the audience is very special and they were the first people to accept me, me being a non-Telugu girl. It makes me feel that I have some responsibility, I have to owe it to them and they love me and I see they genuinly have a lot of love. I would be hearing certain scripts. I havent finalised anything yet.”