Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; May 3, 2014)

In February, last year, actress Sunny Leone had lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime Investigation Cell of Mumbai Police against Kamaal R Khan for falsely attributing controversial comments on rape to her on his microblogging page. The actor had posted, “ Yeh lo… Sunny Leone says, ‘Rape is not a crime; it’s just surprise sex’ (sic). On May 1, Kamaal R Khan wrote on a social networking site, “I request to Digvijay Singh Ji to have a strip show of Sunny Leone in the function of his marriage and I will pay Rs 1crore to the Congress party fund. (sic)” In response to this tweet, Sunny Leone’s lawyer now will be filing a fresh complaint against him.

Advocate Rizwan Siddiquee, who is representing Sunny Leone, says, “It is indeed shocking to note that despite filing an FIR against Kamaal R Khan more than a year ago under Sections 500, 504, 509 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 and Section 66(A) of Information Technology Act, the police seems to have taken no serious cognizance of the complaint, as a result of which, Kamaal R Khan has apparently once again sought to harass my client without any fear. This has now become a very serious issue and shows the functioning of the police in a poor light. I am therefore constrained to issue a final notice to the police to take immediate cognizance of these offences. If the police fail to perform its duties, then I shall be constrained to file appropriate proceedings against the department besides starting proceedings against Kamaal R Khan.”

Bollywood celebrities taking potshots at each other is one thing, but filing cases or complaints against one’s peers is another matter. hitlist takes a look at instances where film personalities were under legal attack from their colleagues…



Kangana Ranaut and Aditya Pancholi
Kangana’s affair with Aditya Pancholi came out in the open when the former filed a police complaint against him for physical abuse. The actress was dating the actor-turned-filmmaker despite knowing that he was married to yesteryear actress, Zarina Wahab.

Apparently, it all started when Ranaut found support in actor Aditya Panscholi and his wife Zarina Wahab, who she then considered to be her ‘family away from home’. At first, Ranaut declined to speak about it openly, despite making several public appearances with him.

In 2007, it was reported that Ranaut had filed a police complaint against Pancholi for physically assaulting her under the influence of alcohol. The following year, Pancholi confirmed the affair in an interview, saying that he had co-habiting with Ranaut in the past. He also accused her of owing him money to the tune of Rs 2.5 million. In response to these allegations, Ranaut’s spokesperson had said, “ After physically assaulting her in the middle of a road, he has no right to expect anything from her. Besides, she has already given him Rs 5 million.”

Abbas Tyrewala and Preity Zinta
On September 12 last year, the local metropolitan magistrate’s court at Andheri issued a nonbailable arrest warrant against Bollywood actress Preity Zinta in connection with a cheque bouncing case. The complaint was filed by Abbas Tyrewala, dialogue writer of the 2013 movie, Ishkq in Paris; Tyrewala went to court claiming that a cheque of Rs 18.9 lakh had bounced. In her defence, Preity said that she had made the payment due to him.

At its last hearing, the court imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Preity Zinta for non-appearance and a non-bailable arrest warrant was also issued, since she did not turn up in court for the hearing. In a setback to the actress, the Bombay High Court refused to quash proceedings against her asking her to face trial.

Sofia Hayat and Armaan Kohli
Actor Armaan Kohli was arrested in December last year for allegedly assaulting British- Pakistani actress Sofia Hayat during their stay at a Lonavala bungalow for the shoot of reality show, Bigg Boss. Kohli was then picked up from the Bigg Boss house by Lonavala city police. It seems that Hayat, who was evicted from Bigg Boss 7, filed an FIR against Kohli at the Santacruz police station. She alleged that she was manhandled and subjected to unparliamentary language by him inside the Bigg Boss house.

Tusshar Kapoor and Samir Karnik
Tusshar has filed a police complaint against director Samir Karnik for misappropriation of funds amounting to nearly Rs 1.7 crore. Tusshar had taken legal action against director Samir Karnik apparently due to nonpayment of Rs 1.75 crore for his promotional work for the film, Chaar Din Ki Chandni ( 2012).
Furthermore, it is said that a cheque given to the actor, that was part payment for the film, had also bounced.

Pulkit Samrat and Ekta Kapoor
Pulkit Samrat, who was popular for his role as Lakshya in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, was once a favourite with Balaji Telefilms. But later, the actor filed a case against the production house over nonpayment of dues and for not allowing him to take up projects from other production houses.

Natalie Portman and Saif Ali Khan
In July 2012, Natalie Portman sued actor-producer Saif Ali Khan, after he announced that they would collaborate on a Hindi film. Khan later clarified that he was joking, and had started the rumour in response to constant media reports on his personal life. The actor had clarified saying, “It was a joke, I am sorry. It’s just that I am very annoyed with speculation on all aspects of my life. If this goes on, I might just start making up stories like these to entertain myself. Hope people will understand that.”

Past squabble

When BR Chopra sued Madhubala
During the filming of Naya Daur, the film was dogged by a highly controversial and widely publicised court case. Initially, actress Madhubala was cast as the female lead. An advance payment was given to her and shooting went on smoothly for 15 days. B. R. Chopra, the director, wanted the unit to travel to Bhopal for an extended outdoor schedule. But Ataullah Khan, Madhubala’s father, objected to this and claimed that the Bhopal schedule was a ruse to give Dilip Kumar the opportunity to romance his daughter (Kumar and Madhubala were in a relationship at the time). Finally, Chopra sued Madhubala to seek a refund of the advance she had received from him. He then replaced her with the South Indian actress Vyjayanthimala who had earlier acted with Dilip Kumar in Devdas. Madhubala supported her father despite her commitment to Dilip Kumar, who then testified in favour of BR Chopra. Madhubala and her father lost the case amid much negative publicity. However, once the film released and became a hit, Chopra dropped his charges to save Madhubala from the humiliation of what could have been a prison sentence.