Shabana Azmi Says Javed Akhtar, Kangana Ranaut Did Not Mutually Settle Defamation Case: 'Victory Is His'
Shabana Azmi said Javed Akhtar clearly won the case as Kangana Ranaut submitted a formal apology.
Earlier this month, Kangana Ranaut announced that she and Javed Akhtar had resolved their defamation case through mediation. In her post, she praised Javed Akhtar and even mentioned that he had agreed to write songs for her next directorial project. However, Shabana Azmi has now opened up about the resolution and said that contrary to the mutual settlement reports, Javed Akhtar has won the case.
Shabana Azmi told Bollywood Hungama, “They had asked for no monetary compensation but for her apology in writing. The victory is his and his lawyer Jay Bhardwaj’s." She added, “But I’m mystified why the press made it seem as though it was a mutual settlement but did not mention that it was the apology in writing which he was seeking and why he had fought the case for four and a half years."
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As per a court report, Kangana Ranaut had mentioned, “The statements made by me in the interview dated July 19, 2020 and thereafter were a result of misunderstanding. I hereby unconditionally withdraw all the statements made by me….and I undertake not to repeat the same in future. I apologise for the inconvenience caused to Mr Javed Akhtar, who is one of the senior most members of the film fraternity, and I have the highest regards for him." Javed Akhtar said, “In view of the statements made by Ms Kangana Ranaut, I agree to withdraw the complaint…"
For the unversed, their legal battle began in 2020, after the lyricist filed a complaint claiming Ranaut had made defamatory statements against him in a television interview, which allegedly damaged his reputation. In 2020, Kangana appeared for an interview on a news channel after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Among other statements, she claimed that Akhtar asked her to apologize to co-star Hrithik Roshan, who had filed a lawsuit against her in 2016, seeking an apology after a public spat over a statement on their alleged relationship.
Javed Akhtar told the court whatever Kangana had said in the interview was a lie. Kangana later filed a counter-complaint in the same court against Akhtar for alleged “extortion and criminal intimidation". Ranaut, in her complaint, claimed that following her public dispute with a co-star, the lyricist had called her and her sister Rangoli Chandel to his house with “malafide intentions and ulterior motives and then criminally intimidated and threatened" her. Over the last 4 years, the case saw multiple hearings and garnered significant media attention.
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