Casting couch is a sad reality in Bollywood and well-established celebrities have also talked about facing it during the initial days of their career.
Casting director turned producer Shadman Khan, who has worked as a casting director for numerous TV series such as Kumkum Bhagya, Yeh Hai Mohabbatein, Kundali Bhagya, Naagin, Kasautii Zindagii Kay, Crime Patrol, among many others, says he is not into casting couch. In fact, he makes sure that his clients don’t face such ill-fated incidents.
He says, “I am not into casting couch. I believe that it is extremely horrendous. I know a lot of people who have been through a lot of embarrassing situations. If you are friendly, people think you are trying to befriend them in a different way, if you are kind and generous they see it in a different way. I have met people who are willing to compromise but to be honest, I am not into such things. I look for talent and not other things. I make sure that my clients are safe when they go for auditions. I even accompany them during auditions if I need to”.
He adds, “I think after the MeToo movement there has been a change in the casting process. Also, there are many people who are conducting online auditions now after Covid. I know that casting couch exists but think more than casting directors, the producers and directors are people, who misuse their power to exploit actors. Also, there are various people involved in the casting process, so pinning the blame on casting directors is not right.”
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Shadman’s currently upcoming projects are the thriller series Janpad Gonda, and Cocktail for ZEE5. Other than this, his on going projects are few music videos and TV series which we all will get to witness soon in the near future.
He runs a production house and an artist management company named, Shadman Khan Casting Agency Private Limited in Mumbai.
