Shiv Thakare opens up about a casting couch experience where he was being taken to a ‘massage center’

From being a simple guy from Amravati to now a popular reality show star, Shiv Thakare has been making his slow yet steady way into the world of Indian entertainment industry. But the former Bigg Boss contestant has definitely faced his fair share of struggles and Thakare, recently opened up about casting couch experiences, which has been a prominent challenge in this industry. He recalled a meeting with a casting director, where he was taken to a ‘massage centre’. In the past, many celebrities have opened up about #MeToo and casting couch experiences, which according to many, is quite rampant in the industry. Revealing about one such incident, Shiv Thakare said that how once the casting director had invited him to a ‘massage center’ after his audition. The reality show star recalled the experience in a Hindustan Times report, saying, "I once went for an audition in Aram Nagar, and he took me to the bathroom and said, ‘Yaha pe massage centre hai’. I didn’t get the connection between an audition and a massage centre. He told me, ‘Ek baar aap aao yaha audition ke baad. Aap workout bhi karte ho...’ I just left the place, since he was a casting director and I didn’t want to take any pangas. I am no Salman Khan.” Besides that, he also remembered yet another incident where a woman invited him to audition for a role at 11pm. Although he didn’t quite like the sound of it, and refused to meet her at an odd time, he revealed in the interview, “Itna bhola toh nahi hoon main ki (I am not that naïve that) I won’t understand what auditions happen at night. So, I told her that I have some work and I cannot make it. To this, she said, ‘Kaam Nahi karna? (don’t you wanna work?)’ ‘You won’t get work in the industry’ and other such things.” He further went on to add how these people would ‘demotivate’ and ‘manipulate’ strugglers in order to get what they want. For the unversed, Shiv Thakare gained fame as the winner of Bigg Boss Marathi and he also managed to win several hearts as he become one of the runners-up of Bigg Boss 16 (Hindi). The reality show star is expected to have also bagged the next season of Khatron Ke Khiladi but there has been no official update on the same. Also Read: Shiv Thakare, Akanksha Puri and others at launch of Naghma Khan’s Shaaz International Premiere League – Season 1