The Family Man’s Shahab Ali says financial crisis forced him to vacate Mumbai flat: ‘All work had stopped’ | Web Series

Shahab Ali, who plays the antagonist Sajid in The Family Man, has said that before the show’s release, he was in ‘a very difficult situation’ financially. He had to vacate his apartment in Mumbai and return to Delhi.

In an interview, Shahab Ali said that he comes from a ‘humble’ background, and that he only found fincancial stability after appearing in two stage productions — Zangoora and Mughal-e-Azam.

“Before the release of The Family Man, I was in a very difficult situation. All work had stopped and I vacated my flat in Mumbai and came back home. Even now, I am still here. Season 2 (of The Family Man) has arrived now and hopefully, things will change,” he told News18.

He continued, “I come from a very humble background. Financially, it has always been tough for me. It is still the same. Everything depends on the upcoming work. This needs to translate into more work. If that happens, everything is going to be great. Both the musical shows gave me some stability. I was able to support my family and pursue my dream. I wanted to come to Mumbai but knew that I couldn’t afford to be there. Coming from Delhi to Mumbai was a really big step for me. I could shift because of the stability these musicals gave me. The Family Man has also given me some hope.”

Also read: The Family Man 2: Intimate scenes with Samantha Akkineni were deleted, says Shahab Ali aka Sajid

The Family Man features several negative characters. Besides Shahab, the other antagonists are played by Darshan Kumaar and debuting this season, Samantha Akkineni. He said in a recent interview that a romantic track featuring his character, Sajid, and Samantha’s Raji, was deleted. “We did some suggestive scenes that suggested that they fall in love towards the end. But those scenes were not making sense for the creators, or maybe the platform. So, those scenes were edited out. There are so many scenes edited out, so it is not a big deal. That is the process (of content creation),” he told Bollywood Hungama.