Fraudsters lure Malayalam actress with offer to play Rajinikanth’s wife in Jailer 2

CHENNAI: Malayalam actor Shiny Sarah recently revealed that she almost fell victim to a casting call fraud. As per media reports, a WhatsApp user had contacted her saying she was selected to play a role in actor Rajinikanth's Jailer 2, adding that they had considered her application through a casting agency.

Sharing her experience via a video on actor Maala Parvathi's Instagram, Sarah said she believed them to be legitimate and expressed interest, after which she was told there would be a virtual audition with a casting agent named Suresh Kumar. For the call with the man, which happened a few days later, she was asked to don a saree, leave her hair loose, show her profile views, and present her self-introduction.

During their call, he revealed to her that she was being considered to play Rajinikanth’s wife in Jailer 2. That was when Shiny started feeling confused, as she knew Ramya Krishnan had played Rajinikanth's wife’s role in the first Jailer film. But when she questioned him about it, he vaguely mentioned she was in consideration for a different Tamil film.

However, she grew properly suspicious when Suresh Kumar said she needed to make a payment of Rs 12,500 for an artist card immediately, as it was a requirement in the Tamil film industry. "I told I needed at least two days to arrange the full amount. He insisted that I pay the first installment as soon as possible. This raised my suspicions," she said.

Shiny later tried to contact her colleagues Maala Parvathi and Lijomol, both of whom had previously worked in the Tamil film industry. When she couldn't reach them, she called another artiste who informed her that an artist card was not required to get work in the particular film industry.

Actor Maala Parvathi, who shared Shiny’s video, warned people to be cautious of such fake calls and fraudsters, while also making the number that contacted Shiny Sarah public (7535801976).