Shalini Pandey, who made her acting debut in 2017 alongside Vijay Deverakonda in Arjun Reddy, is often compared to Alia Bhatt. She’s not flattered, however. Netizens think that her facial features and even her voice remind them of Alia.

Pandey opened up on these comparisons and expressed that she would not want that for herself, while praising Alia Bhatt’s work and her off-screen persona.

Credit: Instagram/shalpz

Shalini, who made headlines last year for starring in Maharaj, which also featured Junaid Khan. Her last role was in the Netflix series Dabba Cartel, and her charming looks and performance gained much appreciation.

“Alia hai! We don't need another Alia and no one should be another Alia, because Alia is so amazing. Just as Alia. I mean, not just because of her films. Of course, she's like what we see her onscreen. But I feel personally, what I've seen of Alia, offscreen also, I think I admire her,” the actor said. The 31-year-old actor added that she wants to have her individuality and wants the audience not to box her into something.

Credit: Instagram/shalzp

“I don’t want to be that because there is one Alia. Of course, there are so many admirable qualities that you want to take, but I also want to have my own individuality. I want people to look at me for who Shalini is rather than box me into something. That I’m not okay with. But when they compare me with love, of course, it’s a great comparison because she’s just lovely,” Shalini said.

Credit: Instagram/aliaabhatt

Despite her clarification, social media remains fixated on the uncanny similarities. A user commented, “Voice and tone are exactly like Alia… some angles she looks just like her.” Another shared, “She even talks like Alia! The resemblance is insane.”

Meanwhile, a netizen speculated, “She’s irritated by the comparison but won’t outright say ‘I don’t like this’ because of Alia’s stardom.”

In an earlier interview, the actor had opened up about a disturbing incident early in her career, where a South Indian film director entered her van without knocking while she was changing.

Credit: Instagram/shalpz

She told Filmygyan, “I drew boundaries early in my career to protect myself,” Pandey explained, adding that while she had worked with some wonderful men in the industry, she had also encountered “horrid men.”

She pointed out that this included people both on-screen and off-screen, within the crew as well. “I have also faced the most chauvinistic men. That's also the reality,” she admitted, highlighting the challenges she faced as a woman in the industry.

Reflecting on her journey as an outsider, Shalini admitted that she didn’t come from a film family and had no guidance when she first started. “I didn't have anyone to go back to, so I had to figure it out on my own,” she said. “Initially, I didn’t have an idea, but I’m glad I was like that. I was naive, but I had hard boundaries. Like, I would snap,” she recalled.