Vikas Bahl files defamation suit in HC

Mumbai: Filmmaker Vikas Bahl has filed a defamation suit in the Bombay high court against film director Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, his former partners in the production house, Phantom Films. Bahl, who has been accused of sexual assault by his former employee, also sought court directions in seeking to restrain Kashyap and Motwane from making any further statements either to the media or on social media against him.

The suit, which was filed on Tuesday, alleged that Kashyap and Motwane made "defamatory, slanderous and baseless allegations" against him due to which he has suffered irreversible damage to his reputation. He labeled his former partners as opportunists, who allegedly orchestrated the whole campaign against him, making him look like the person responsible for the production house's fall.

Phantom Films was established in 2011 by Kashyap, Motwane, Bahl and producer Madhu Mantena. The company's productions include films like Lootera, Hasee Toh Phasee and Queen. Right after Bahl was named by a former employee of Phantom Films amid #MeToo campaign, Kashyap and Motwane dissolved the production house.

The woman employee, who is yet to be identified, alleged that Bahl sexually assaulted her in Goa during a promotional tour for the movie Bombay Velvet in 2015. Bahl had earlier this month issued legal notices to Kashyap and Motwane threatening to file civil and criminal defamation cases if they did not withdraw their messages from social media and tender an unconditional apology.