Kashmiri model Muzammil Ibrahim gained notoriety in the fashion industry following his victory in the 2003 Gladrags Manhunt Contest. When he was asked to do music videos, he performed in about 1500 runway shows.

He transitioned to film after his music video for Pardesiya, featuring Rakhi Sawant, became popular. Muzammil chose to make his Bollywood debut four years later, at the age of 21, in Dhokha, directed by Pooja Bhatt. But according to Muzammil, the experience left scars.

In an interview with Hindi Rush, Muzammil recalled acting in Dhokha, which led to years of trauma. He said: “I had not experienced a toxic environment before. I was not used to cuss words. It was a very traumatic experience for me. And working in that environment was even more difficult. Despite all the torture, I didn’t have any option because I was the only breadwinner of my family, after I called them all to Mumbai from Kashmir, given the instability in the region.”

He added, “I used to be extremely frustrated that I was unable to oppose that behaviour due to my responsibilities. It almost kills me to have gone through that and not being able to talk about it just because they are powerful people.”

While it was a Mukesh Bhatt production film, Muzammil clarified that his director was the only troublemaker on set. “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.”