By News18,Shreyanka Mazumdar

Copyright news18

Muzammil Ibrahim had barely stepped into Bollywood when he says his dream turned into a nightmare. The Kashmiri model-turned-actor, who rose to fame after winning the Gladrags Manhunt Contest and starring in hit music videos, recalls his first film experience as deeply scarring. Speaking about Pooja Bhatt’s Dhokha, his debut at just 21, Muzammil says the atmosphere on set left him shaken and still dealing with the after-effects years later.
‘Pooja Bhatt tortured me’
“I had not experienced a toxic environment before. I was not used to cuss words. It was a very traumatic experience for me,” he told Hindi Rush.
Muzammil shared that working under pressure was unavoidable since he had brought his family to Mumbai from Kashmir. With no choice but to continue, he says he endured the situation despite feeling broken inside.
“Despite all the torture, I didn’t have any option because I was the only breadwinner of my family… It almost kills me to have gone through that and not being able to talk about it just because they are powerful people.”
‘Pooja Bhatt tried to sabotage my image’
While Dhokha was backed by Mukesh Bhatt, Muzammil says his issues were only with the director. He clarified that Mahesh Bhatt shot most of the film, while problems arose when Pooja Bhatt took charge. “Only the director made me suffer. The team, however, was great. Bhatt sahab had offered me about three films after Dhokha, but because of my previous experience on set… I didn’t take up any of that.”
He even turned down Raaz 2 despite knowing it wasn’t being helmed by Pooja Bhatt. That decision, he says, backfired badly. “They tried to sabotage my image”
According to Muzammil, rejecting films didn’t go down well. “My director (Pooja Bhatt) had arranged a media assassination against me and had shared rumours about me. She played woman card to put me down… Her attitude was that: ‘Actor should be like a dog. If I ask you to sit, you sit, if I ask you to stand, you stand.’”
He added that articles were planted about him being “difficult” and “having attitude”, damaging his reputation in the industry. The actor says the trauma of that time continues to affect him.
“It scared me. It was very torturous and mentally draining time. The experience triggered insomnia. I still suffer from it.”