Only a week ago, we saw Shalini Pandey as Junaid Khan’s naïve fiancée in Maharaj, a period drama set in the 19th century. Now, the actor’s next sees her travelling from the past straight into the lives of present-day Thane women. She is among the five women headlining Dabba Cartel, Netflix’s upcoming crime thriller. While director Hiten Bhatia has brought together some of the finest actors—Shabana Azmi, Jyotika, Nimisha Sajayan, and Anjali Anand—Pandey doesn’t bat an eyelid before admitting that for her, the crime thriller was all about working alongside Azmi.   

“My parents are big fans of Shabana ji. After meeting her, I became a bigger fan. She is graceful, especially when you see how she has handled her life. She is someone I have been noticing [on set] and learning from. She was my biggest takeaway from Dabba Cartel,” says Pandey, who forayed into Bollywood with Jayeshbhai Jordaar (2022).