Dabba Cartel: Anjali Anand reveals Shibani Dandekar secretly took her audition at 1 am; ‘She just told everybody…’

In a recent interview, Anjali Anand revealed that she wasn’t the first choice for Dabba Cartel and that Shibani Dandekar secretly arranged her audition.

Updated on Mar 26, 2025  |  04:08 PM IST |  16K
Dabba Cartel: Anjali Anand reveals Shibani Dandekar secretly took her audition at 1 am; ‘She just told everybody…’
Picture Courtesy: Anjali Anand Instagram

After receiving praise for her performance in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani, Anjali Anand is now winning over audiences with her role as Shahida in Dabba Cartel, where she plays one of the show’s five lead characters. Interestingly, she recently revealed that she was brought on board just four days before filming began.

Shibani Dandekar, impressed by Anjali’s work in RARKPK, decided to replace the originally cast actress and secretly took her audition at 1 AM. Shibani reportedly told everyone to trust her decision.

In a conversation with SCREEN, Anjali Anand shared an interesting story about how she landed her role in Dabba Cartel. She revealed that she was cast just four days before filming began, despite the fact that the entire cast had already been finalized.

According to Anjali, Shibani Dandekar watched her performance in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani and realized she had made an error in her initial casting decision. Shibani was convinced that Anjali was the perfect fit for the role of Shahida, but initially, her suggestion was met with resistance.

Anjali revealed that Shibani secretly instructed the casting director to contact her. She recalled that she was on her way to Mumbai when her car had a flat tire.

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As soon as the casting director mentioned that the project was a Netflix show, produced by Excel Entertainment, and that she would be one of the five lead characters, Anjali was immediately on board. She admitted that she didn’t even feel the need to read the script before saying yes.

Anand further shared that Shibani arranged for her audition in secret, which took place at 1 AM. She mentioned that Shibani urged everyone to trust her instincts.

During the audition, Anjali was given a scene from the fifth episode without having read any other parts of the script. However, as soon as she began reading, everyone present was convinced that Shibani had made the right call by choosing her. Anjali expressed her gratitude for being cast as Shahida, believing that she was in the right place at the right time.

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