Actress and model Shibani Dandekar opened up about being trolled for marrying actor Farhan Akhtar. In her recent interview with actress Rhea Chakraborty, she underlined the importance of protecting one’s mental health against negative noise on social media. Shibani shared that she is often called a ‘gold-digger’ and trolls mention ‘love-jihad’ in the comments on her pictures with Farhan, but she does not pay heed to such disturbances.

Shibani was present on Rhea’s podcast Chapter 2: Fresh Conversations and Empowerment when she made revelations about dealing with negative people. She also commented on her inter-religious marriage with Farhan and how people criticise her for marrying into a Muslim family.

Shibani said, “When I started my relationship with Farhan, people used to call me these two things on a daily basis – ‘love jihad’ and gold digger. What should I do about it? I will not stay in bed crying because people are saying these things. I am not a gold digger and the truth is that he is from a Muslim family and I am from a Hindu family and we got married and we are very happy in our marriage. That is the truth of our situation. So people can say whatever they want about us, but this is the truth.”

She talked about people comparing her family’s financial situation to Farhan’s. The actress and popular host highlighted that she has had her own journey before meeting Farhan, but trolls can say anything to affect you emotionally.

She said, “I get comments like, ‘Who is she?’, ‘Who was she before marrying Farhan Akhtar?’ And I sit and read those comments, and think ‘Oh, have I done something wrong in my life, was I nobody before marrying him?’ or ‘Do I know that I lived a full 39 years before I met him’. Will I believe a stranger or will I believe my own journey?

“There is a difference between what is the truth and what someone is saying to upset you, to put you down, to make you feel like you don’t matter, to put you in a position where you feel vulnerable. It’s very important to understand that and make sense of it,” Shibani added.

The 44-year-old actress suggested that one should only pay attention to constructive criticism on social media and use the feedback for their growth. “I can go on my phone right now and I can make 15 nasty comments to anyone on any page for no reason,” she said.

Shibani concluded by saying that there is no need to waste time in teaching people to be sensitive towards others on social media. “It is not up to us to figure out why these people are doing this, because we will never understand it. It is up to us to know how to handle ourselves,” she said.

Shibani married Farhan in a private ceremony at their Khandala farmhouse in February 2022. The couple took vows in front of their close friends and family members.