Jason Shah, known for his role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi, has bravely disclosed his struggles with sex addiction. In addition to alcohol and smoking, Jason battled with this particular addiction, which he described as being especially challenging. While reflecting on his journey, the actor expressed that he confronted this issue a few years back and credits a spiritual transformation for helping him overcome it.
During a candid interview with YouTube channel Shaardulogy, Jason delved into his personal struggles with addiction, shedding light on his battles with alcohol, smoking, and a sex addiction. Jason admitted that his dependency on women was particularly challenging to overcome. Reflecting on his recovery journey, he shared,
“It was alcohol. I was smoking about two and a half packs a day. I can definitely say I was addicted to women. It was a sex addiction which was very difficult for me. I think it was one of the bigger ones to leave. God is so good and his grace is so sufficient for me that his love just overrode everything.”
Jason candidly expressed the arduous nature of overcoming his addiction, emphasizing the challenges of learning to say no. Reflecting on his experience, he cautioned against the commonly held belief of “if it feels good, do it,” recognizing it as potentially harmful advice, “It’s not easy, it is tough because you have to say no. There’s that funda that if it feels good, do it. But I have realised that that is probably the worst advice that you could give anybody. From my life, I would say, my worst decisions were made when it felt good. What I say now is, if it feels good, think about it,” he added.
Reflecting on the pivotal moment when Jason came to terms with his sex addiction, he recounted a poignant incident that occurred after New Year’s Eve in 2021. Witnessing a girl departing from a friend’s house left him grappling with deep feelings of shame and guilt, “I was at a friend’s house and I saw a girl leaving, as always. I felt bad about hurting her. I was actually feeling a lot of shame, and a lot of guilt and what that did to me was make me feel very empty,” he recalled.
It was this emotional reckoning that propelled him onto a spiritual odyssey, fostering a newfound belief in the existence of deeper meaning in life. With this shift in perspective, Jason began to grasp that fame and wealth are transient, leading him to prioritize intrinsic values over fleeting external validations. He shared, “I started to believe that there was more purpose to life than the life that I had been living uptil then and that’s where I realised that fame, money don’t matter because they are there for a moment and then they are gone.”
Jason revealed insights into his current relationship, expressing a strong belief that his partner may be the one for him. He disclosed their decision to abstain from sexual intimacy until marriage, citing a desire to safeguard against becoming overly emotionally entangled prematurely. He expressed,
“Now it’s no sex before marriage and things like that which is a massive…” Jason continued, “As soon as you have those kind of sexual relations with a woman, what happens is you both become emotionally involved with each other where logic then gets thrown out of the window and you are basing your entire relationship off of emotions and as I said feelings are dangerous. Emotions are feelings and it can get very difficult.”
Jason Shah played the role of British cop Alastair Cartwright in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s web series. Released on May 1, 2024, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar stars Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharmin Segal Mehta, Farida Jalal, Fardeen Khan, Shekhar Suman and Adhyayan Suman in key roles. It explores the various aspects of a woman’s trials and tribulations.
