Filmmaker
Vikas
Bahl,
accused
of
sexual
assault
by
a
former
employee
of
Phantom
Films,
has
filed
a
Rs
10
crore
defamation
suit
against
Anurag
Kashyap
and
Vikramaditya
Motwane,
his
former
partners
in
the
production
house.
The
court,
during
the
hearing
Wednesday,
directed
Bahl
to
make
the
woman
employee
a
respondent
to
the
suit
and
adjourned
the
hearing
to
October
19.
Bahl,
the
director
of
Kangana
Ranaut-starrer
"Queen",
has
sought
an
interim
direction
from
the
court
seeking
to
restrain
Kashyap
and
Motwane
from
making
any
statements,
either
to
the
media
or
on
social
media
platforms,
against
him.
The
suit,
filed
Tuesday,
alleged
that
Kashyap
and
Motwane
made
"defamatory,
slanderous
and
baseless
allegations" against
him
due
to
which
he
has
suffered
irreversible
damage
to
the
reputation.
It
demanded
damages
of
Rs
10
crore
from
Kashyap
and
Motwane.
He
labelled
his
former
partners
as
opportunists,
who
allegedly
orchestrated
the
whole
campaign
against
him,
making
him
look
like
the
person
responsible
for
the
production
house's
fall.
Justice
S
J
Kathawalla,
who
heard
arguments
on
Bahl's
application
for
interim
order,
asked
if
the
parties
were
open
to
sort
out
the
issue
amicably.
"Is
there
any
way
to
end
this
matter?
Just
check
if
the
parties
are
willing
for
this," he
asked
the
lawyers.
The
court
also
directed
Bahl
to
make
the
woman
who
has
levelled
allegations
against
him
a
respondent
to
the
application,
saying
it
was
pertinent
to
hear
her
too.
Justice
Kathawalla
directed
Bahl,
Kashyap,
Motwane
and
the
woman
to
appear
in
person
in
his
chamber
on
Friday,
when
the
matter
would
be
heard.
Bahl's
counsel
Sharan
Jagtiani
argued
that
even
after
the
alleged
incident,
the
woman
was
in
touch
with
Bahl.
To
this,
Kashyap's
counsel
Venkatesh
Dhond
said
Bahl
cannot
trivialise
the
woman's
allegations
on
this
ground,
as
she
had
to
continue
working
with
Phantom
Films.
Justice
Kathawalla,
while
adjourning
the
matter,
noted
that
while
the
#MeToo
movement
was
good,
there
should
be
guidelines
in
place
so
that
authorities
know
how
to
handle
such
cases.
The
judge
passed
no
order
on
Bahl's
plea.
Phantom
Films
was
established
in
2011
by
Kashyap,
Motwane,
Bahl
and
producer
Madhu
Mantena.
The
company's
productions
include
"Lootera",
"Hasee
Toh
Phasee" and
the
blockbuster
Queen.
Soon
after
Bahl
was
named
by
a
former
employee
of
Phantom
Films
amid
the
MeToo
campaign,
Kashyap
and
Motwane
dissolved
the
production
house.
The
unidentified
woman
employee
alleged
that
Bahl
sexually
assaulted
her
in
Goa
during
a
promotional
tour
for
the
movie
"Bombay
Velvet"
in
2015.