‘Bell Bottom’ casting director says rape accused had nothing to do with film

The casting director of ‘Bell Bottom’ Vaibhav Vishant, in a statement on Monday refuted allegations linking an individual named Ayush Tewari to the film.

The statement was issued after a television actress accused Tewari of rape and a case was filed against him under Section 376 at Mumbai’s Versova police station.

Clarifying that the person accused in media reports was an intern with the organisation, casting director Vishant said that the accused had nothing to do with the film ‘Bell Bottom’.

“It is distressing to see the film and the names of others associated with the film being tarnished with false and unverified allegations. I am the casting director of ‘Bell Bottom’. The individual Ayush Tewari was a freelancer intern in my company and has nothing to do with the film or its casting. He has not worked on ‘Bell Bottom’ in any capacity,” Vishant said.

“It is extremely upsetting to see that some publications in order to get a clickbait headline will go to any lengths to put out uncorroborated and unsubstantiated information... I hope the police will conduct a fair investigation and justice will be served. However, I will request media publications to correct the facts and stop linking ‘Bell Bottom’ to this case,” he added.