Shalini rescues a puppy from Himachal Pradesh, adopts her!

Shalini Pandey, who is all set to make her Bollywood debut in the Ranveer Singh starrer 'Jayeshbhai Jordaar', says she has always been confident of her physique and never paid attention to what people were saying about it. Shalini, who shot to fame with her performance in 'Arjun Reddy', says that she has never felt the pressure to look a certain way for the industry.

The actress said: 'I have mostly been a healthy eater almost all my life. I was always into sports and I started swimming since the 5th standard. I was into a lot of sports actually like badminton, volleyball and others. I was quite an outdoor kind of a kid. So yes, I have been a fitness freak ever since.'

Actress Shalini Pandey, who is set to debut on the big screen in Bollywood with the much-awaited Ranveer Singh starrer Jayeshbhai Jordaar, has rescued and adopted a puppy from Himachal Pradesh.

She reveals, “I was on a personal trip to Bir (Himachal Pradesh) for seven days. On the 5th day, while I was driving for a trek, I saw a puppy running around on the street, crying, howling, shivering, scared, in a really poor condition. I stopped the car and ran towards her and held her in my arms. She was immediately calm and I felt an instant bond with the puppy.”

Shalini adds, “After asking the locals about the puppy, I got to know that the pup was abandoned by her mother and was roaming around on the streets for the past 2-3 days, lost and scared. The puppy was just about 2 months old. I got in touch with someone named Prachi, a Bir local, who shelters all the local street dogs to understand what could be done about the puppy.“

Shalini realised that the pup would be up for adoption and she was not ok leaving the puppy after rescuing her.

She says, “Prachi was super helpful! I was too attached to let the puppy go. I had spent the entire evening taking care of the puppy and decided to adopt her. I checked if it can happen and got a go ahead from Prachi. I also checked if the puppy can be taken to Mumbai as it’s Himachali and they are quite furry and not used to intense heat. I was told it's ok for the pup to travel as she is very young and can easily acclimatize to the Mumbai temperature!”

Shalini adds, “I was delighted to hear this! I was supposed to fly back but I cancelled my ticket and took the train instead. I traveled to Chandigarh by road from Bir and then I took the train to Mumbai, which nearly took 40 hours to reach the city. I’m over the moon and my heart is full having her around me.”

"Also, I'm planning to name her Bir!' She says.