The announcement of Neeraj Pandey’s upcoming production Ghooskhor Pandar on Tuesday caused quite an uproar on social media, with its title. many film-goers alleged the filmmaker of defaming a certainly community with the use of ‘Pandat’ in a negative connotation. Things particularly esclated when an FIR was filed in Lucknow against the makers, alleging that the content of the film has hurt public sentiments and disturbed social harmony, prompting official action by the local authorities.
On Friday morning, Neeraj issued an official statement, clarifying their title usage. Taking to his Instagram page, the Special 26 filmmaker penned, “our show is a fictional cop drama. The term Pandat is used as a collouqiual name for a fictional character. The story focuses on an individual's actions and does not comment on or represent any religion, caste or community.”
Neeraj also shared that the Ghooskhor Pandat team has taken down all promotional material for the time being, so that the audience can 'enjoy the film in its entirety and understand it in the context of the story.’
This is Neeraj’s sixth collaboration with Manoj Bajpayee after Special 26, Naam Shabana, Aiyaary, Saat Uchakkey and Missing. Besides being the producer for the film, Neeraj Pandey has also co-written the script with director Ritesh Shah. The film was recently announced as part of the Netflix 2026 slate.
The film is billed as a thriller that takes place over span of a single night. In the film, Manoj promisingly plays a corrupt and morally bankrupt cop figure. After an unexpected encounter disrupts his plans, Pandat finds himself drawn into a chain of events that tie up to a massive global conspiracy.
Besides Manoj, the film stars Nushrat Bharuccha, Saqib Saleem, Akshay Oberoi, and Divya Dutta.
