Exclusive: Shantanu Maheshwari reveals 'Khatron Ke Khiladi' helped him overcome fear of animals

Actor and international dancer Shantanu Maheshwari recently via his Instagram page post shared a cute video of playing basketball with the dogs amid heavy rains. He wrote about his fear of animals have turned into love. Shantanu captioned the video stating, "1.26 minutes of LIFE. A feeling of pure warmth... pure bliss... pure innocence... pure love... I didn’t even realise how my feelings for animals transformed from fear to love... I’m proud of this transformation... #dogs #pure #doglover #feartolove @thecampmax_kalote #loveforanimals".

Now while exclusively talking to DNA, Shantanu spoke at length about how much he used to fear animals earlier. The Dil Dosti Dance actor stated, "Back in college I was slightly afraid of animals and was uncomfortable with the idea of having them too close to me. Then over the years a couple of friends got pets in the form of dogs and cats home, and I slowly started getting used to being around them, which then went on to me even playing with them, and finally recognizing my love for those innocent, pure-hearted and beautiful souls."

 

 

 

 

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on Aug 10, 2020 at 5:45am PDT

He further shared, "I am proud and happy that I was able to turn my fear to love for animals in the process. Unlike us, they can't speak their minds or voice their thoughts, so the only way they can express themselves is through their expressions and actions, which are usually filled with so much love, that it tends to even rub off on us humans!"

Shantanu also shared how Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8 also helped him. He said, "Another thing that helped me overcome my fear for animals was interacting with them even more closely and witnessing different kinds of species upfront while participating in Khatron Ke Khiladi. Being able to see, feel and be so close to those creatures which we usually fear, was an eye-opening experience for me, and really helped me strengthen my bond with animals even more."