Vivek Agnihotri has ended his silence over allegations of sexual misconduct levelled by Tanushree Dutta, saying the claims are “false and frivolous” and have been made “with an intent to attract publicity and wreak personal vendetta”. Agnihotri’s lawyer, Nidhish Mehrotra, said in the statement that Tanushree is being sued for defamation.
The statement, which was also tweeted by Agnihotri, read, “The allegations levelled against my client Mr Vivek Agnihotri by Ms Tanushree Dutta for misbehaviour and/or harassment are absolutely false, frivolous and vexatious. These allegations are deliberate and have been borne with an intent to attract publicity and wreak personal vendetta against my client with malafide intentions. On the instruction of my client, we have served a legal notice to initiate defamation action against her.”
On Wednesday, Tanushree said in a statement that she has received legal notices from Agnihotri and Nana Patekar. In earlier interviews, the actor had accused Patekar of physical and sexual harassment on the sets of their 2008 film, Horn OK Pleassss. She had claimed that when she refused to do an intimate step with Patekar, he had called goons to the sets of the film who had vandalised her car. In another interview to a channel, Tanushree had said Agnihotri had behaved inappropriately with her.
{{/usCountry}}On Wednesday, Tanushree said in a statement that she has received legal notices from Agnihotri and Nana Patekar. In earlier interviews, the actor had accused Patekar of physical and sexual harassment on the sets of their 2008 film, Horn OK Pleassss. She had claimed that when she refused to do an intimate step with Patekar, he had called goons to the sets of the film who had vandalised her car. In another interview to a channel, Tanushree had said Agnihotri had behaved inappropriately with her.
{{/usCountry}}Horn OK Pleassss filmmaker Rakesh Sarang and choreographer Ganesh Acharya had earlier dismissed Tanushree’s claims. However, journalist Janice Sequeira had shared an eyewitness account of the incident. She had tweeted, “Some incidents that take place even a decade ago remain fresh in your memory. What happened with #TanushreeDutta on the sets of “Horn Ok Please” is one such incident - I was there. #NanaPatekar.” This was verified by Shyni Shetty, who was an assistant director on the film. She had confirmed the incident with a tweet that read, “Everything in this thread happened exactly the way it’s written. It was my first film as an AD. I was proud of what you did then, @TanushreeDutta and I’m proud of you today.”
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