MUMBAI: An apparently and visibly fake Facebook profile of director Rajkumar Santoshi has been contacting women, mostly models and upcoming or struggling actors, asking them to send their nude photographs and videos under the guise of giving them work or casting for a film.
A similar incident had happened years ago, just before the lock down and Santoshi had filed a complaint with the Mumbai cyber crime cell, after which the fake profile was deleted.
Now, this criminal activity seems to have started all over again with a new fake profile sprouting up.
Actor Rayya Labib was one of the victims of this fake profile and got a message from the FB profile stating that he (the fake Rajkumar Santoshi FB profile) was casting for a new film project and asked for nude photos.
“I immediately realized that it was a fake profile and blocked and reported it, because a similar incident had happened a few years ago, which I had read about in the media,” Rayya Labib told his journalist, adding that she informed several model and actor friends from the industry to block and report the profile.
Rajkumar Santoshi is among one of the most celebrated directors of Hindi cinema having made films like Ghayal, Ghatak, Damini, Andaz Apna Apna, The Legend Of Bhagat Singh, Khakhee and Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani among others.
His next film, Gandhi Godse, is slated for a January 26, 2023 release.
Besides Gandhi Godse, Santoshi has another film lined up. It’s a partition drama called Lahore:1947, in which he is working with Sunny Deol after a gap of 26 years.