Manoj Bajpayee says he faced a lot of threats and even his family was dragged in during Ghooskhor Pandat row

The film's title sparked a storm on social media, with many users, politicians and organisations terming it ‘casteist and offensive’.

After Netflix India announced its slate of web series and films for 2026, one project caught the attention for all the wrong reasons. An FIR was filed against the makers of the film Ghooskhor Pandat for allegedly hurting sentiments with its title and content. The makers apologised and told the Delhi High Court that the Manoj Bajpayee-starrer will get a new title. In a new interaction with news agency PTI, Manoj has now opened up about the controversy and shared how he received threats.

Manoj Bajpayee in a still from Netflix's Ghooskhor Pandat which resulted in FIRs and backlash.

What Manoj shared

Manoj said the controversy affected the entire team for some time, while he himself faced a lot of threats. He shared, “We didn't expect it. But when it happened, in two day's time we put out our apology. If anything is offending anyone with that much of intensity, we as creative people are always there to mend our ways or correct ourselves. I personally feel that the title change is not going to be such a huge thing, we are creative people, we can come up with ten different titles and they will be equally exciting.”

'I don't have that energy and time to argue with people'

He added, “But I must tell you that when the threats were coming to me, I was also travelling continuously without any fear. When people are trolling you, abusing you and getting your family into the whole thing, I feel empathy for them. The film talks about something else. But I think on social media now people are impatient and they are eager and desperate to come out with their opinion without even knowing fully about the subject matter. I'm a person who is very curious for knowledge, I'm a well-educated person, and I don't have any intention, I don't have that energy and time to argue with people, who are that impatient with their opinion or who are not even bothering to educate themselves. So, why to argue with them? Don't get into the mud with the people who like to roll you into the mud.”

Earlier, producer Neeraj Pandey issued a statement clarifying that the term 'Pandat' was a nickname in the film and not an attack on any community. Acknowledging the hurt caused by the title, he added that all promotional material was being taken down for review. A new title is yet to be announced.

Ghooskhor Pandat was announced by Netflix at its Next on Netflix 2026 event in Mumbai. A first-look teaser was shared on social media the same day. It has since been taken down. The film stars Manoj Bajpayee, along with Nushrratt Bharuccha, Saqib Saleem, Akshay Oberoi, and Divya Dutta. Written by Neeraj Pandey and Ritesh Shah, the film marks Shah's directorial debut. It is slated to release on Netflix later this year. No release date has been announced.