Javed Akhtar appears in court in relation to Kangana Ranaut defamation case, claims actress lied about him
Javed Akhtar and Kangana Ranaut
Well-known Indian poet and film lyricist Javed Akhtar appeared before a magistrate court on Monday in relation to a defamation case that he has filed against Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut. Akhtar was cross-examined by Ranaut's lawyer in the case which was filed last month. Akhtar has alleged that Ranaut made comments against him in an interview in 2020. The veteran lyricist stated the comment was "nothing but a lie".
On Monday, when Rizwan Siddiquee, Ranaut’s lawyer asked a question about the interview, Akhtar said, “What she said in the interview is a lie and nothing but a lie.”
The interview in question was given by Ranaut to a channel a month after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who died by suicide on 14 June2020, at his Bandra residence. Rajput's death opened the nepotism debate in Bollywood once again and led to a probe into drug usage in the Hindi film industry.
In his complaint, Akhtar said he was shocked to see the interview on 19 July2020, where Ranaut had alleged his involvement in Rajput’s death and had referred to him and others as the ‘suicide gang’ of Bollywood.
Akhtar, in his complaint, said Ranaut had given her opinion on the circumstances around the death of Rajput “without appearing to have any direct personal knowledge of the circumstances around his death".
Most of the questions asked to Akhtar during the cross-examination related to a ‘personal dispute’ she had with one of her former co-stars.
Ranaut had filed a counter-complaint in which she alleged Akhtar had called her and her sister to his house during the dispute and “criminally intimidated and threatened her”.
During his appearance at the court, Akhtar denied the allegations and said Ranaut had been called to his home by another person known to both of them and that she was aware of the agenda of the meeting. He also denied that she had left the meeting as she was upset and said that they had parted on a cordial note.
Akhtar said that the actress was not willing to listen to his point of view during their meeting and so they spoke about her work and films. Akhtar also added that he always liked her work and the films she did.
