Actress Shalini Pandey, who plays the role of Kishori in the Netflix film Maharaaj, recently spoke about the ‘charan seva’ scene in the film with Junaid Khan and Jaideep Ahlawat. In the scene, she is sexually abused by a tantrik while people watch it all. Pandey said that when she read her character on paper, she initially thought the Kishori was “stupid” and she “broke down” while filming the scene.

“When I did the charan seva scene with Maharaj… I didn’t realise till then how it affected me, because I did the scene and suddenly, I went out and I told my team, ‘I don’t want to be in a closed room, I need time, I need some fresh air, I am feeling a bit nervous’. I told Sid sir (the film’s director). Jaideep understood it,” Pandey said. Bollywood Hungama.

Directed by Sidharth Malhotra P, Maharaj stars Jaideep Ahlawat as a tantrik who rapes women and makes them believe it is a holy act. Pandey’s character Kishori is one of his victims in the film.

Shalini Pandey explained, “Playing the character of Kishore, who is so naïve and sweet… initially, when I read it, I thought she was stupid but then I realised she wasn’t stupid, she just didn’t know any better. She was so indoctrinated that she was sure of everything she was doing.”

He further added, “When you feel like that and do that and think about it, it just tears you apart. Then you realise she’s not stupid. I hope she knew this was happening to her.”

The actress clarified that her “ideologies” are completely different from the teenager’s character.

Based on true events and the book by Saurabh Shah, Maharaj is set in 1800s Bombay. It is the story of a courageous journalist and dedicated social reformer named Karsandas Mulji (played by Junaid Khan).