Vikas Bahl cleared of sexual misconduct claims

Director Vikas Bahl has been given the all clear by the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of Reliance Entertainment, which investigated a sexual misconduct allegation made against him by a former employee of Phantom Films.

“It is true that the ICC report exonerated Vikas. With ICC clearing Vikas Bahl’s name, we don’t have a choice but to reinstate his credit as ‘Super 30’ director,” Shibasish Sarkar, Group CEO, Reliance Entertainment, said in a statement.

Bahl, who shot to fame as the director of ‘Queen’, was accused by the woman of sexual harassment on a trip to Goa in 2015. The film’s lead actress Kangana Ranaut, as well as Bahl’s then partners Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, also spoke of his alleged misconduct.

A source said that the matter was probed by an all-women committee with two lawyers, one internal and one external.

The clean chit has enabled Bahl’s credit as director of Hrithik Roshan-led ‘Super 30’ to be reinstated. His name will feature in the trailer, which will be released next week.

Reliance Entertainment held a 50 per cent stake in Phantom Films — co-owned by Bahl, Motwane, Kashyap and Madhu Mantena — which was dissolved last year after the #MeToo controversy.

Kashyap came out in support of the allegations in a report and also tweeted about it, while Motwane called Bahl a “sexual offender”.

This had led to Bahl’s removal from ‘Super 30’, produced by Reliance Entertainment.

Bahl filed a defamation suit against Motwane and Kashyap, saying the defendants were “taking advantage of the ongoing #MeToo movement in the country”.