Sanjana Sanghi, who marks her debut in Mukesh Chabbra’s Kizzie Aur Manny had reportedly accused her co-star, Sushant Singh Rajput of sexual harassment in July. Sanjana, on Tuesday, clarified that no such incident took place on the sets.
According to reports, Sanjana had spoken to director Chabbra at the time, who simply “laughed off the matter”. The report also stated that Sanjana’s parents came on set to speak to the director who reportedly asked said to “keep a strong gut if their daughter was expecting to have a long run in showbiz”.
After these allegations, many were speculating that Sushant Singh Rajput’s verification badge was revoked by Twitter. The actor had clarified with screenshots denying making Sanjana feel uncomfortable. And also stated that his verification has been missing since 5 September. Since then, Twitter has reinstated the verified mark on the actor’s profile.
Sushant shared screenshots of conversations he has had with his co-star, Sanjana since the day they began shooting the film.
“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. From the first till the last day of the shoot, this is what happened on the Set with Sanjana,” he wrote on Twitter.
Casting director Mukesh Chhabra, who is helming Kizzie aur Manny has also been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women.
A survivor recounted an account to Mid-day, “He asked me to enact a scene which had the hero and the heroine hugging each other. Under the pretext of showing me how the scene should be performed, he grabbed me hard and felt me up. I could feel his hand on my butt. I was shell-shocked and immediately withdrew. He realised [my trepidation] and started vehemently apologising. At one point, he said, I thought you were fine with it because other girls are.”
Chhabra released a statement “standing by” Sushant Singh Rajput.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)