Sushant, director face allegations
The actor has been accused by his ‘Kizie Aur Manny’ co-star
Sushant SIngh Rajput faces allegations of sexual misconduct by his ‘Kizie Aur Manny’ co-star Sanjana Sanghi. Director Mukesh Chhabra has also been suspended from the project. Sushant Singh Rajput has been accused of sexual misconduct by his Kizie Aur Manny co-star Sanjana Sanghi.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, the film’s director Mukesh Chhabra has been suspended from the project for allegations levelled against him.
Rajput has denied the allegations, sharing screenshots yesterday of his SMS conversation with Sanghi in defence, calling it a “smear campaign”.
“I feel sad to reveal personal information but it seems that there is no other way to state what was, in the midst of this curated and well-timed smear campaign,” Rajput tweeted. “From the first till the last day of the shoot, this is what happened on the set with Sanjana.”
Sanghi has accused the 32-year-old actor of behaving inappropriately on the sets, saying he made her feel “uncomfortable” with his “overly friendly behaviour” during the shoot in Jodhpur.
The film’s director and popular casting director Chhabra has spoken out in support of Rajput. “I totally stand by Sushant. No such incident happened on the sets and let’s not have a Twitter trial and make an innocent person suffer for somebody else’s ulterior motives. I had clarified this on twitter long back and I still maintain it.”
However, Chhabra too has been accused by several women of sexual harassment. The Bollywood casting director, who was all set to make his directorial debut with the Hindi remake of The Fault in our Stars, has now been suspended from the film following the allegations.
In a statement, the production house, Fox Star Studios, said until the time Mukesh Chhabra Casting Company concludes its inquiry into these allegations, the director will remain suspended.
Meanwhile, according to a report published in Indian daily Mid-Day, four aspiring actors have accused Chhabra and another casting director Vicky Sidana of harassing them during the audition process. Chhabra had earlier denied the “unsubstantiated wild anonymous allegations” in a detailed letter posted on his Twitter handle.
Chabbra is known for working on films such as Gangs of Wasseypur, Dangal, Rockstar, among others. —IANS and PTI