Vikas Bahl files defamation suit against Kashyap, Motwane

Mumbai: Filmmaker Vikas Bahl has moved the Bombay High Court with a Rs 10-crore defamation suit against his former Phantom Films partners Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane amid the #MeToo furore. Bahl, in a suit filed on Tuesday, sought direction from the court to restrain the two from making any statement about him to the media or via social media. The court on Wednesday posted the matter to Friday so that the alleged victim's side of the story can also be heard in the court's chambers, Bahl's advocate Hitesh Jain told IANS. The 'Queen' famed Bahl was last year accused of sexual harassment by a former employee of the film collective Phantom Films, for an incident that took place in 2015 in Goa during the promotion of the banner's movie 'Bombay Velvet'. The allegation resurfaced as the #MeToo movement garnered steam in India, leading some others, including 'Queen' actress Kangana Ranaut, to point fingers at Bahl's behaviour towards women. Kashyap came out in support of the allegations in a HuffPost India report and also tweeted about it, while Motwane called Bahl a "sexual offender". Bahl has said the defendants are "taking advantage of the ongoing #MeToo movement in the country". Kashyap, Motwane, Bahl and Madhu Mantena made a creative film quartet in Bollywood when they established Phantom Films in 2011. They came up with movies like 'Lootera', 'Hasee Toh Phasee', 'Queen' and 'Udta Punjab', as well as the web series 'Sacred Games'. The company's dissolution was announced earlier this month.