Heeramandi’s Taha Shah Badussha reveals he got scammed after he paid to get auditions, casting directors ignored his calls for 6 years

Heeramandi’s Taha Shah Badussha reveals he got scammed after he paid to get auditions, casting directors ignored his calls for 6 years

Taha Shah Badussha, who played Tajdar Baloch in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi, struggled to relaunch himself in the film industry after first breaking out over a decade ago. In a recent interview, he shared details of his struggle, including giving up to eight auditions a day and being scammed by people he'd paid to secure opportunities for him. Speaking to Instant Bollywood, Taha said, "I have been in the film industry for 14 years and I got nothing. In the last 5-6 years, I was getting 500-600 likes on my Instagram posts but one day, boom... I started getting likes in lakhs and lakhs. My Instagram is buzzing, every 2-3 minutes I am getting a message."

Discussing the gamble of pursuing acting, Taha said, "I accept it on camera I go to parties to make contacts. It didn't help instantly, but now, everybody will pick up my call. I have tried to call casting directors and six years they didn't pick up my calls." Explaining how he kept pursuing people for roles, he said, "I live on my calendar. If I had called a person, I would make sure I call him/her again after two weeks. I have thousands of names on my calendar. I would make 40 calls each day. Cold calling is the best discipline anybody should go through," he added. When asked if he feared looking desperate, he said, "I am desperate. You should be desperate. If you are not desperate in life, you will not get anything and I am live example of the same."

Taha recalled an anecdote from his audition days when he stood in line for 13 hours but ended up leaving the project because they wanted to block him for four years. He also revealed that people took advantage of his desperation, and he got scammed several times. He said, "Before I got Yash Raj, I used to go for eight auditions a day. Many a times I used to give money for auditions. something around Rs 4000-10,000. I even got scammed 3-4 times when they would take money from me and the whole office would disappear the next day."

Taha admitted that his good looks have sometimes hindered his ability to bag roles in the past. He said, "I have gotten so many rejections because they said 'you are too good looking.' They have said 'if you are too good looking then what will happen to the lead'. I have not gotten films and auditions because of that. The other belief is that since you too good looking, you can't act."

Despite not having any projects lined up, Taha continued to work on his craft by attending acting and dance classes, preparing himself for future opportunities. He shared that people from around the world are now calling him to offer their blessings, he said, "Aunties, mothers are calling me give to give me blessings. People are calling from Cape Town, from Sri Lanka. Before it was just me and my family praying, now it's the world praying for me."

For the latest news from across India, Political updates, Explainers, Sports News, Opinion, Entertainment Updates and more Top News, visit Indian Express. Subscribe to our award-winning Newsletter Download our App here Android & iOS