Super 30 actor Mrunal Thakur on Vikas Bahl controversy: ‘What’s the fault of the film?’

Super 30 actor Mrunal Thakur has commented on the sexual harassment allegations against the film’s director, Vikas Bahl.

Super 30 actor Mrunal Thakur has spoken about the sexual harassment allegations against the film’s director, Vikas Bahl, and has said that the film shouldn’t be blamed for it. Bahl was cleared of the allegations, and was reinstated as the sole credited director of the film, starring Hrithik Roshan as a maths teacher who starts a program to coach underprivileged children.

Indian Bollywood actors Hrithik Roshan (L) and Mrunal Thakur (R) pose during the promotion of the upcoming Hindi film Super 30, based on the life of mathematician Anand Kumar. (AFP)

“I thought about it but I realised, ‘what’s the fault of the film?’ The story is so wonderful, I have seen everyone working hard, while we were filming, everything was OK,” Mrunal told PTI. The actor made her film debut in the multi-starrer Love, Sonia.

“I didn’t want the film to be affected. I’m glad that after everything, things have been cleared and the film is releasing on July 12. Every film goes through ups and downs, I’m glad the film is getting what it deserves,” she added.

A Phantom Film employee had accused Bahl of sexual harassment in 2015. She wrote about the incident in Huffington Post last year when the MeToo movement hit India, encouraging women to share personal stories of sexual harassment at work place.

Bahl’s name was removed from the credits of Super 30 after the allegations. Later, an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) was set up to investigate the case. Meanwhile, Bahl filed ₹10 crore defamation suit against his former Phantom Films partners Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap. saying that the defendants were “taking advantage of the ongoing #MeToo movement in the country”. On June 1, Bahl, was given a clean chit by the ICC; subsequently, his directorial credit for Super 30 was restored. Huffington Post has since reported that the investigation might not have been conducted fairly.

Super 30 is slated for July 12 release and also stars Aditya Srivastav, Pankaj Tripathi and Johnny Lever.

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