Promised role as Rajinikanth's wife in Tamil cinema: Shiny Sara exposes casting call fraud

What if you receive a call saying you have been selected to play Rajinikanth's wife in a Tamil movie? A great opportunity, right? But actor Shiny Sarah who made her debut in 'Maheshinte Prathikaram' almost fell prey to a major casting call fraud after a man promised her a role as Rajinikanth's wife in a Tamil film, if she paid Rs 12,500 for an artist card in Kollywood.

Shiny shared her experience on Instagram through her friend and fellow actor Maala Parvathi's social media account. In the video, Sarah reveals that she initially thought the call was genuine, but said she became suspicious when the caller demanded her to make the payment immediately.
"The other day, I received a message on my Whatsapp number saying that my application through a casting agency has been accepted. They informed me they were looking for actors who could play Rajinikanth's son's wife in 'Jailer 2'. They then asked me if I had an artist card. When I said we don't have such a card in Mollywood, he said they would make arrangements for the same.  The caller then informed me that I would receive a call from a man named Suresh Kumar. I got a call two days later asking me to wear a saree and appear for a video call interview.

Suresh Kumar introduced himself and said I was selected for the role of Rajinikanth's wife. I was confused since actor Ramya Krishna already plays the wife of Rajinikanth in 'Jailer 2'. When I asked him about that, he said I was being considered for another film. He then told me he was sending an application for my artist card via email and asked me to share my Aadhar card details and photo," said Shiny.

Though Shiny shared the details, she became suspicious when Suresh Kumar asked her to immediately pay the amount for the artist card. "I told him I needed at least two days to share the full amount. He said I should pay the first instalment as soon as possible. This made me suspicious," she said.

Shiny later tried to contact Maala Parvathi and Lijomol who had previously acted in Kollywood. When she was unable to reach them, she then contacted another artist who said an artist does not require an artist card to get work in the industry. "Many people have fallen victims to such a fraud. People need to be careful," said Shiny in the video. Maala Parvathi too asked people to be wary of such calls from the number 7535801976.