'Maharaj' Actress Shalini Pandey On The Controversy Around Junaid Khan's Debut Film: We Didn’t Do Anything To Disrespect Any Religion

Aamir Khan's son Junaid Khan's debut film, 'Maharaj' got embroiled in controversies ahead of its release on Netflix. The Gujarat High Court put an interim stay on the film, which was supposed to premiere on June 14. The order was passed based on a plea filed on behalf of devotees of Lord Krishna and followers of the Vaishnav Pustimarg sect. After one week, the stay was lifted and the movie released on June 21. Actress Shalini Pandey, who played Junaid's on-screen fiancee in the film, opened up about the controversy around 'Maharaj'.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Shalini said she knew the sentiments around it and personally felt that they didn’t do anything to disrespect any religion or anyone. She feels that there was nothing like that in the film.

She continued, ''Moreover, after watching it, people who know me have been telling me that we thought there would be something bigger because of which people were reacting that way, but there was nothing as such. People were assuming, I feel. They assumed a lot and made a bigger picture in their heads, which was not in the film''.

The 'Arjun Reddy' actress is happy that the film is finally out. She added, ''Of course, we did not feel good about it [the stay] then. The film is everyone’s baby and when you work on a project, you wish it sees the light of the day''. Shalini also said that director Siddharth Malhotra was ''extremely worried and anxious'' and she would have felt really bad if the film would have gotten shelved. ''But, beyond a point I couldn’t do anything,'' she said.

Shalini also said that she is happy with the response 'Maharaj' is receiving. She further said, “There are mixed emotions, but overall we are getting a good response. When you work on something, you want people to see it and am glad that it is happening''.