Khuda Haafiz is Result of 7-8 Years of Work in Various Fields and Platforms: Shiv Panditt

“Then I got offered a film from a very big studio called Mumbai Delhi Mumbai but the studio in the middle had some changes and the film got stuck. They later released it in some theatre for half an hour because they had a TV deal where they needed to release the film theatrically. So, they literally released the film for half an hour, and then they put it on television.”

Shiv believes that now with actors like Pankaj Tripathi and Rajesh Tailang taking over the films’ posters, things are changing for the better in the film industry.

“Over the years, the evolution of cinema in this country has now made people and the actors themselves realised that ‘I can dream certainly… I don’t have to be like this and I can be this instead.’ Earlier, you wouldn’t have seen Pankaj and Rajesh sir on posters. Maybe they were not stereotypical looking for the business but the audience has evolved and now they want to see actors who have talent. Of course, there are going to be the stereotypical films but even in those films, the audience is really promoting those people who they’d like to see on the screen. Today, the audience has complete autonomy and power. Today, the content is everything,” he adds.

Shiv is currently receiving praise for his stylish performance as an Arab security agency officer Faiz Abu Malik in Khuda Haafiz, which recently released on Disney+ Hostar. The actor says Khuda Haafiz is the result of his seven-eight years of constant hard work despite facing some major failures and setbacks in his career.