A woman who worked as an assistant director for Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju has accused him of sexual harassment. A few days ago, there was a blind item mentioning the same.
Rajkumar Hirani is accused of sexual harassment by a woman. The woman was an assistant director of Hirani’s 2018 film Sanju.
Hirani has denied the allegations, which were detailed in an email to ‘Sanju’ co-producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra.
Chopra’s wife Anupama, who is the director of the Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI) and a director of Vinod Chopra Films Pvt. Ltd, was also marked on the emailed complaint, as was scriptwriter Abhijat Joshi, who has scripted most of Hirani’s movies including Sanju, PK and Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and Shelly Chopra, Vidhu Vinod’s sister, and the director of the upcoming Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga.
Rajkumar Hirani, responding through his lawyer Anand Desai, has categorically denied the allegations.
“At the outset, our client states that the allegations made against him are false, mischievous, scandalous, motivated and defamatory,” Desai said in an email dated December 5, 2018.
The allegations have put considerable pressure on Chopra and Hirani’s partnership. A June 27, 2018 teaser of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga included Rajkumar Hirani Films as a co-producer on the movie. The trailer of the film, released on December 26, 2018 — after the allegations came to light — makes no mention of Hirani.
