Pandya Store fame Shiny Dixit recalls a childhood emotional trauma: 'My father used to call me a PROSTITUTE…'

Pandya Store actress Shiny Doshi recently discussed a difficult period from her past that continues to influence her present. In a moving interview with Siddharth Kannan, Shiny revisited the deeply painful relationship she had with her late father—a man she says abandoned her family when she was just a child.

Shiny, who began her acting career in 2013 with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saraswatichandra, disclosed that her father left her mother and brother when she was very young, compelling her to start working early to support the family. However, it wasn't solely the financial strain that affected her—it was the emotional trauma that ran deeper.

My father used to call me a prostitute. My print shoots in Ahmedabad sometimes went on till 2 or 3 in the morning. My mother was always with me—I was just 16. But when we returned home, instead of asking if we were safe, he would throw accusations. He’d say, ‘You’re taking your daughter out at 3 a.m.? Are you pimping her out?’

- Shiny Doshi

“He had a terrible tongue," she said, her voice cracking.

Upon being asked if she had managed to forgive him, Shiny conceded, “These are knots in life that can’t be untied. I’ve taken them as life lessons, but even now, I sometimes feel very weak. I never had a father figure to back me up, to say, ‘I’m here for you.’"

Shiny's father passed away in 2019 during the Amarnath Yatra. At the time, they hadn't spoken for two years—a fact that still troubles her. "There's a guilt that lingers," she admitted quietly.

Despite her sorrow, Shiny persists. Having received acclaim for her recent performance in Pandya Store—an official adaptation of the Tamil series Pandian Stores—she embodies resilience, refusing to allow her past to dictate her future.