MUMBAI, Oct 10, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A prominent Bollywood director accused
of sexual harassment denied the allegations Wednesday as he threatened to sue
two fellow filmmakers for defamation over the case which has helped fuel
India’s #MeToo movement.
Vikas Bahl is accused of assaulting an employee of Phantom Films — an
edgy production house behind Netflix’s first original Indian series, “Sacred
Games” — in a hotel in 2015.
In accusations published on HuffPost India Saturday, the unnamed woman said
Bahl had insisted on escorting her to her room and pretended to pass out
drunk on her bed, only to awaken and masturbate on her.
Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, who along with Bahl and another
filmmaker founded Phantom Films, released statements on Twitter later that
day backing the woman.
The report came after they had announced they were dissolving the
production company on Friday.
Bahl, director of “Queen”, a 2014 hit movie about female empowerment,
issued a denial through his lawyer on Wednesday in his first public statement
responding to the allegation.
A legal notice released to the media and seen by AFP said Bahl “denies all
allegations”.
“Vikas Bahl issues defamation notice to Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya
Motwane threatening civil and criminal action,” it added.
The notice accused Kashyap and Motwane of “professional rivalry and
jealously” and of trying to jeopardise the release of Bahl’s upcoming film
“Super 30”.
It called for them to withdraw the claims and issue an apology or face
being sued.
The year-old #MeToo movement has finally gathered steam in India in recent
days with Bollywood figures, a government minister, several comedians and top
journalists among those accused of abusing their positions to behave
improperly towards women.
The spark was Hindi film actress Tanushree Dutta, who in a recent
interview accused well-known Bollywood actor Nana Patekar of inappropriate
behaviour on a film set 10 years ago. He denies the allegations.
A Mumbai comedian, Utsav Chakraborty, last week found himself at the
centre of a Twitter storm accusing him of sending lewd messages and requests
for topless photos to women and young girls. He later apologised.
The HuffPost article on Bahl appeared before a host of women journalists
accused M. J Akbar, a well-known former editor and now a junior foreign
minister in Narendra Modi’s government of sexual harassment.
Akbar is yet to comment publicly on the allegations and the government is
yet to issue a response.
On Monday, writer and producer Vinta Nanda accused veteran film actor Alok
Nath of raping her 19 years ago.
“Neither I am denying this nor do I would agree with it. It (rape) must
have happened, but someone else would have done it,” Nath told an Indian news
channel.