Director of the movie ‘Queen’ Vikas Bahl, in the eye of the storm after sexual harassment allegations surfaced against him, has filed a defamation case against Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and others.
Bahl filed the suit in the Bombay High Court, and has also sought compensation of Rs 10 crores from the respondents.
All you need to know
- In his application submitted to the court, Bahl has alleged that Kashyap and Motwane, among others, took advantage of the ongoing #MeToo movement in the country and have published ‘false, malicious, unsubstantiated imputations, allegations and statements’ against him through their social media platforms.
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- “They did so with an intent to settle personal scores, exact vendetta and due to professional jealousy with an intent to defame him and destroy his career,” the ‘Queen’ filmmaker told the court.
- In his application, Bahl pleaded the court to direct Kashyap and Motwane to delete the ‘defamatory’ posts.
- The director has also named a few media publications and their editors in his application.
- Earlier in October, Bahl had sent a legal notice to his former partners of the now dissolved Phantom Films, Kashyap and Motawane.
- The ‘Shaandaar’ director has been accused of sexually harassing a woman who used to work as a crew member with him in Phantom Films.
- Kangana Ranaut has also accused Bahl of sexual misconduct on the sets of ‘Queen’, the critically acclaimed film directed by him.
- The court, during the hearing Wednesday, directed Bahl to make the woman employee a respondent to the suit and adjourned the hearing to October 19.
- Phantom Films was established in 2011 by Kashyap, Motwane, Bahl and producer Madhu Mantena.
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- The company’s productions include ‘Lootera’, ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’ and the blockbuster ‘Queen’.
- Soon after Bahl was named by a former employee of Phantom Films amid the #MeToo campaign, Kashyap and Motwane dissolved the production house.
- The unidentified woman employee alleged that Bahl sexually assaulted her in Goa during a promotional tour for the movie ‘Bombay Velvet’ in 2015.
(With ANI Inputs)
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