Hansal Mehta all but backs Anurag Kashyap versus Payal Ghosh; suspicious over 'tagging PM'

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta took to Twitter and wrote a long letter in a series of tweets alluding to the allegations of sexual assault made by Bengali actor Payal Ghosh against Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap. He took a trip down memory lane and revealed that he has known Anurag for 24 years and wrote that he can be "brash" and "stupid" sometimes but not a sexual harasser. Hansal also stated that his tweets should not be construed as a letter of support and that it is rather "a plea for truth and a just outcome".

Mehta has also questioned the "timing of levelling accusations" on Anurag and also the fact the alleged victim tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the tweet when she broke silence over the director's alleged misconduct. Further, he has also mentioned that Anurag has vociferously stood against sexual harassment and abuse of women in the past. He claimed that lies and falsities would be a great disservice to women who have actually been a victim to sexual predators.

Read | Taapsee Pannu backs Anurag Kashyap over sexual assault row, calls him 'biggest feminist'

Read | Anurag Kashyap denies Payal Ghosh's sexual assault allegations; talks about his marriages

Payal Ghosh accuses Anurag Kashyap

Payal Ghosh claimed Anurag Kashyap sexually assaulted her in 2014-15 in an interview with the news channel ABN Telugu. She claimed that Kashyap did an inappropriate gesture while seeking a sexual act from her, after inviting her into another room. Payal claimed that he boasted about other actresses agreeing to his similar demands and that many were ready to ‘sleep with him just to share a frame with Ranbir Kapoor’. His ambitious film Bombay Velvet had not released then.

Read | NCW chief has message for Payal Ghosh as actor accuses Anurag Kashyap of sexual assault

Tweeting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Payal wrote that Kashyap had ‘forced himself upon’ her. Seeking action against ‘demon behind the creative talent’, she claimed she could be harmed and sought protection.

Anurag Kashyap termed the allegations ‘baseless’ and ‘lies’ and asked why the attempt to 'silence' him was 'delayed.' The filmmaker-actor emphasized that he has never done or tolerated such an act, as he spoke about his two marriages, affairs and equation with female co-workers.

Read | Anurag Kashyap proudly named women he's been with; said 'don't be shy': Payal Ghosh speaks