Aftab Shivdasani Once Spoke About Facing Casting Couch: 'He Used To Call Me Late At Night…'

News18

18-07-2025

Aftab Shivdasani once revealed that he faced casting couch during early days in his career. Ram Gopal Varma gave him his big break in Mast with Urmila Matondkar.
Actor Aftab Shivdasani started his acting career as a child artist, having starred in films such as Mr India, Shahenshah, and ChaalBaaz. He then took a break and returned to the film industry, only to restart his career with modelling and ad gigs. It was during that phase in life when the actor admitted to facing the casting couch.
Aftab Shivdasani and Vivek Oberoi, together, appeared as guests on Riteish Deshmukh and Sajid Khan's game show, Yaaron Ki Baraat. During a segment on the show, Aftab shared his ordeal when a renowned personality from the entertainment industry would call him late at nights and ask him to visit him at a hotel. Upon realising the intent, the Kasoor actor stopped entertaining him.
Aftab said on the show, 'When I was not an actor and was doing music videos and modelling assignments, I visited a person who promised me a film. He used to call me late night, kept me hanging. Later on, I realised that it's a hoax and stopped picking his calls. And the guy was a very well known personality and I can't name him here. I did meet him once or twice but later I stopped when his intentions became clear."
For the unversed, casting couch refers to the exploitative practice where people in positions of power in the entertainment industry demand sexual favours from aspiring actors in exchange for roles or career opportunities. It's widely condemned as unethical and abusive.
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma gave Aftab Shivdasani his first big break in Mast, co-starring Urmila Matondkar in 1999. In a conversation with ETimes, Aftab clarified that his background as a child actor had no connection to him landing the lead role in Mast. While still in school, he often auditioned for commercials simply because he enjoyed being in front of the camera. It was during one such stint, a cola advertisement, that he caught the attention of RGV, who later cast him in Mast.
Meanwhile, on the work front, Aftab Shivdasani has been a part of superhit films such as Kasoor, Awara Paagal Deewana, Hungama, Footpath, 1920: The Evil Returns, Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3, and several others. Next, he has an array of films in the pipeline. He is a part of Welcome To The Jungle in Akshay Kumar's multi-starrer, Masti 4 with Riteish Deshmukh and Vivek Oberoi and Kasoor 2 with Urvashi Rautela.
First Published:
July 18, 2025, 19:56 IST
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