Anurag rejects sexual assault allegations
New Delhi: Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap denied all sexual assault allegations levelled against him by actor Payal Ghosh and tweeted: "All I want to say is all allegations are baseless."
Payal Ghosh, who has worked in films like 'Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi' and 'Prayanam', has recently accused the 48-year-old filmmaker of forcing himself on her in an interview with ABN Telugu. However, Anurag Kashyap dismissed the allegations described them as "an attempt to silence" him. In a long thread posted in Hindi, Anurag Kashyap wrote, "Wow, it took you so long to make an attempt to silence me. Never mind... in a bid to silence me, you have dragged another woman in this, despite being a woman. Please stick to the limits, Madame. All I want to say is all allegations are baseless."
In yet another tweet, the filmmaker wrote: "Whether it's my first wife or second, or a girlfriend... or all those actresses who worked with me... or all those female colleagues who have been working with me... I don't indulge in such behaviour in public or otherwise. Neither do I tolerate such behaviour."
While Ghosh found support in National Commission for Women, with its chairperson Rekha Sharma assuring the actor that the NCW will take cognisance of the case, several film personalities urged that the #MeToo movement must not be abused for vendetta.
Calling Ghosh's allegation the "cheapest" stunt, Kashyap's first wife, Bajaj said the filmmaker is somebody who makes sure to create a safe work environment for his female co-workers.
"There is no integrity left and the world is full of losers and no brains baying for blood of anyone who has a voice. If everybody spends that energy which they use in hating others constructively this world will be a better place," she added.
Hansal Mehta questioned whether the allegation against Kashyap was just another "witch hunt". "This happening at a time when Anurag often has been outspoken and provided a contrarian view on things happening around us. Is he making some people uncomfortable? there are so many questions and they are not necessarily about the allegations leveled against AK. Is this a witch-hunt yet again?"
Mehta said lies will do a "huge disservice" to women who are regularly subjected to sexual harassment and abuse, adding #MeToo movement must "not become a target of abuse for somebody's selfish gains".
Taapsee Pannu took to Instagram and wrote that the filmmaker was "the biggest feminist" she knew.
Anubhav Sinha said, "It is the joint responsibility of women and men both to carefully protect the sanctity of #Metooindia. It is a very very very important movement that should not be misused for any other reason but the dignity of women," he tweeted.
