Pushed into prostitution at 17, she became a bar dancer in Dubai; Aashiqui 2 writer ‘entertained multi-millionaires' before she met Mahesh Bhatt

Indian Express

10 hours ago

The glamorous world of the movies promises an escape to its audience, who are often deprived of happy endings in real life. But not many know that the opportunities provided by the film industry can turn one's life around almost overnight. Shagufta Rafique lived in poverty all her life with her adopted single mother. By 12, she was dancing at private parties at 12, and by 17, she had turned to sex work. Shagufta lived a traumatic life until she met Mahesh Bhatt, and turned her pain into poetry. It was almost as if she was a character from one of Bhatt's films. She went on to write films like Aashiqui 2, Murder 2, among others.
Shagufta, in an earlier interview with Filmfare, said that she never knew her biological mother. She was being raised by a forgotten yesteryear actor Anwari Begum but many around them assumed that she was actually Anwari's maternal granddaughter, as her biological daughter had a relationship before she got married. She had also heard that she was found on the streets but never truly discovered the truth about her biological parents.
When Shagufta was 12, she started dancing at private parties for her mother, who had fallen upon hard times. The woman who was once living a comfortable life and raising her daughter all by herself had to sell her bangles and utensils to make ends meet. Shagufta didn't know that these private parties were held in shady flats but she had taken it upon herself to take care of her family. 'These parties, held in shady flats, had the atmosphere of a brothel where respectable men came with their mistresses and prostitutes,' she said as she recalled 'vivid images' of picking up cash from the floor. She did this till the age of 17.
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Shagufta turned to sex work at 17 and described the experience as 'traumatic.' In a chat with Pakistani channel Geo TV, she shared that her mother was aware of what she was doing, and did not approve of it. But Shagufta could see that they were desperate for money, so she continued to do what she felt she had to do. She recalled that they could now afford to buy chicken and prawns, she even bought gold bangles for her mother, which made her feel like the 'man of the house.' At this point, Shagufta told Filmfare, she was starting to make Rs 3000 every night. She continued to do it for the next 10 years, until someone suggested that she move to Dubai and become a bar dancer.
In Dubai, she would sing and dance and entertain men, but she drew the line there. 'I got scared at first. I didn't know people would be smoking and drinking while I was performing. For the first couple of days, no one was giving me any money because I was so scared,' she told Geo TV. But just a few days later, she met a 45-year-old man who showered her with money. They fell in love and he proposed to marry just a week later. Though they didn't get married, she considers him to be her guardian angel who eventually pulled her out of this world. She left Dubai a few years later when her mother was diagnosed with cancer in 1999.
In 2002, Shagufta met Mahesh Bhatt and expressed her willingness to write. 'I had slept in chawls, on dirty pillows; on dirty mattresses, where several girls had slept before and entertained multi millionaires… I wanted to write it all down. I believed I had a career in Bollywood,' she told Filmfare. She started her journey as a writer in 2006 when she wrote a few scenes in Mohit Suri's Kalyug, which faintly mirrored her own life. She then went on to write Woh Lamhe, Awarapan, Raaz 2, Murder 2 and Aashiqui 2.
Shagufta was last credited for writing the Pakistani TV show Lambi Judai.