My character in Maharani is casteist, says Sushil Pandey

After appearing in iconic films such as Phas Gaye Re Obama (2010), Jolly LLB (2013), Jolly LLB 2 (2017) and Article 15 (2019), actor Sushil Pandey will now be seen playing a prominent negative character in SonyLIV’s web-series Maharani, which stars Huma Qureshi, Sohum Shah and Amit Sial. 

Speaking about his character, Pandey said in a statement, “The name of my character is Kunwar Singh, who is the commander of Veer Sena, a private army, led by forward classes in the 1990s in Bihar to fight, kill and control and dominate over backward classes. He is a person who truly believes and supports casteism and discrimination and has no tolerance for backward class and treats them as untouchables.” 

Maharani revolves around Qureshi’s character who is abruptly made the new chief minister of Bihar as her husband (Shah), who is the incumbent, is bed-ridden after an attack. This leaves Sial’s ambitious character frustrated.

Throwing light on the subject, Pandey said, “It talks about patriarchy and how she [Qureshi’s character] survives in this system. It’s inspired by real-life stories. Working with Huma was amazing as she is really a beautiful human and an amazing co-actor. Amit Sial is a dear friend. So it was really fun.” 

Pandey has been a part of a number of Subhash Kapoor’s films. “So I can say he is like my mentor. He cast me for my first credible work where I got a small recognition in Phas Gaye Re Obama. So there is a lot of comfortable space and amazing rapport working with him,” said the actor.