Aamir to Work With #MeToo Accused Dir Subhash Kapoor on ‘Mogul’

Subhash Kapoor has been accused of sexual assault.

Aamir Khan is producing and acting in a biopic on Gulshan Kumar.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Dangal actor Aamir Khan has gone back on his decision to not work with #MeToo accused director Subhash Kapoor on Mogul, a biopic on movie producer Gulshan Kumar. Kapoor was arrested after actor Geetika Tyagi filed an FIR in February 2014 alleging that he had molested her. In a statement to the media, Aamir said that he believes that a person is innocent until proven guilty. He also added that he trusts the courts to serve the ultimate justice.

Aamir Exits ‘Mogul’ After Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Dir Subhash Kapoor Surface

In October 2018, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao had released a statement saying that they would be distancing themselves from Mogul , which was to be co-produced by Aamir Khan Productions and T-Series, as it involved a person who had been “accused of sexual misconduct”. They did not name the filmmaker in question. “Without casting any aspersions on anyone involved in this case, and without coming to any conclusions about these specific allegations, we have decided to step away from this film,” it read.

Aamir Khan later came back on board after Kapoor exited the project.

Felt Troubled I Had Cost a Person His Livelihood: Aamir

Now that Subhash Kapoor has been brought back on board as director of Mogul, Aamir Khan has issued a statement to the media explaining his decision to continue his association with the project, both as an actor and producer. He has said that in hindsight, he felt his actions had “inadvertently cost a person – who is yet to be tried in a court of law – to lose his livelihood.” He added that he was “very troubled” after hearing that Kapoor was subsequently dropped from other projects and that production houses were reluctant to work with him following the allegations.

“I could not sleep at night because I used to constantly feel that my actions have inadvertently caused a person, about whose guilt I have absolutely idea, to lose his right to work and earn a livelihood.”

Aamir Khan, Actor

Aamir says this belief was reinforced when he received a letter from the Indian Film & Television Directors' Association (IFTDA) which said that since Subhash Kapoor is yet to be proven guilty, “he should not lose his right to earn a living.” Taking the letter into consideration, Aamir says he met with women from the industry, from Heads of Department to assistant directors to costume assistants, who had worked Kapoor.

Following the investigation, Aamir responded to IFTDA’s letter by saying that he is prepared to reconsider his earlier decision and come back to ‘Mogul’.

Following these interactions, Aamir responded to IFTDA’s letter by saying that he is prepared to reconsider his earlier decision and come back to Mogul. “What we found is that, without exception, all of them spoke very highly of him. Not only did they not feel any discomfort with him, but rather they went out of their way to praise him. They said that he looked after everyone on his set with great care. Caring, sensitive and supportive were the words used to describe him,” he says.

Geetika Tyagi Accuses Subhash Kapoor of Molesting Her at a Party

In February 2014, actor Geetika Tyagi had accused Subhash Kapoor of molesting her. Geetika alleged that Subhash Kapoor had forced himself on her and dragged her into a room during a party. The actor had also uploaded a video in which she and filmmaker Atul Sabharwal confront Subhash Kapoor and his wife about the assault. Subhash confesses to the incident and is seen to be apologetic about it, Geetika while breaking down in the video slaps Subhash to let out her anger.