The casting director has filed a Rs 4 crore defamation suit against the actress, who had accused him of sexual harassment a few days ago
Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; November 4, 2018)

Casting director Vicky Sidana, who was accused by actress Kritika Sharma of sexually harassing her five years ago, has filed a Rs 4 crore defamation suit against her. The case was filed at the Bombay High Court on Friday. His lawyer Shreyansh Mithare confirmed the development and said, “The allegations levelled by the complainant are baseless and defamatory. There are discrepancies in her versions and the allegations have affected my client’s professional and personal life. We have, hence, filed a Rs 4 crore defamation suit against her.” He added, “We have prayed to the court that Kritika be restrained from giving interviews regarding Vicky.”

We also got in touch with Vicky, who said, “The allegations levelled against me are false, baseless and defamatory, and so, I have approached the High Court. I have complete faith in the judiciary, and will abide by whatever the court verdict is.” There are rumours doing the rounds that Vicky has lost out on three films due to the allegations against him.

In the wake of the #MeToo movement gaining momentum in India, Kritika had accused Vicky of sexually abusing her in 2013, when she was was asked to visit Mumbai from Delhi for a meeting with filmmaker Luv Ranjan’s assistant.

Since she didn’t know anyone in the city, Vicky promised her accommodation at his own house, which Kritika did not find unsafe as he lived with his wife. But, according to the actress, the situation turned ugly when they went to another building for the said meeting. Vicky allegedly took Kritika to an empty apartment and tried to force himself on her. However, when she refused to budge, he gave up and asked her to leave.

On October 18, Kritika filed a written complaint against Vicky at the Versova police station. Later, the actress claimed that the cops had refused to file an FIR.

When we got in touch with Kritika, seeking her response to Vicky’s defamation suit, she said, “Since I have the stamped copy of my police complaint, the defamation suit doesn’t scare me at all. In fact, it gives me more courage to fight my battle. I am not stepping back and will wait for my lawyers to respond, as it’s a legal matter. Also, November 22 is the pre-admission date in the court, so I am expecting that the police would be asked to file an FIR. The cops have said that investigation is over. So, they now need to explain what’s stopping them from filing an FIR.”