Actor Rupali Ganguly has broken her silence on the recent controversy involving her and stepdaughter Esha Verma after the latter called her “toxic” and “abusive”. An old post by Esha, Rupali’s husband Ashwin K Verma’s daughter with his second wife Sapna, claiming that Rupali and Ashwin got into a relationship while he was still married to Sapna went viral.

At a recent event, the actor was asked about how the entire ordeal affected her. “Agar main kahun ki (main) nahin affect hoti toh main jhooth kahungi. Of course, affect hota hai. Hum insaan hain, agar humare baare mein koi peeth peeche thodi si burai bhi kar de toh bura lagta hai,” she told Instant  Bollywood, adding, “Bura samay kabhi kabhi aata hai, buri cheezein hoti hain, lekin acchai hamesha jeetti hai.”

Following one of Esha’s interviews claiming Rupali and Ashwin’s 11-year-old son was illegitimate, the actor filed a Rs. 50 crore defamation suit against her. Esha later issued an apology for dragging her stepbrother into the matter, adding “misinformation was thrown into some articles”. She also deleted the post and made her Instagram account private.

Actor Rupali Ganguly has followed up on a legal notice sent to her stepdaughter, Esha Verma, by filing a defamation suit for Rs. 50 crore in damages. Confirming the same, her lawyer, Sana Raees Khan, tells us, “We have filed a defamation suit in the Bombay High Court today to protect Rupali’s integrity and reputation against baseless and malicious attacks.” Khan further emphasised that the lawsuit is a reminder that no one, regardless of citizenship or location, has the right to defame others without facing consequences.

This legal step follows a prior notice sent by Ganguly, requesting an apology and monetary compensation from Verma, along with the removal of negative social media posts about her. The suit was initiated after Verma failed to meet these demands. The matter is now subjudice and expected to be listed in court soon.

The legal conflict between Ganguly and Verma arose after the latter publicly shared her personal experiences related to her father and her upbringing, which included claims that drew negative attention and criticism on social media.

What Esha said after the legal notice was issued to her

Esha addressed her decision to share her personal story involving her father, stating, “Speaking up was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it also became a turning point in my life.”

Esha Verma, stepdaughter of actor Rupali Ganguly, has recently shared a statement addressing the public reaction to her previous social media posts and videos. In her recent Instagram Stories, Esha responded to the Rs. 50 crore defamation notice she received from Ganguly, calling it “disturbing, cruel, and displayed their true character.” She also spoke critically about her father, businessman Ashwin K Verma, asserting that despite being an adult, she is still his child, and that sharing her experiences should not have led to punishment.

Esha, 26, explained that her decision to open up about her past and difficult experiences was driven not by malice but by a desire for “freedom and justice.” “For 24 years, I felt trapped in a reality I couldn’t escape. Sharing my experiences was my way of finding freedom and justice. My intention was never to cause harm but to shed light on experiences that shaped me,” she shared.

Addressing accusations regarding her half-brother, Rudransh, Esha added, “I never involved a minor in my statements. What I shared was factual: I learned of a marriage that took place on February 6, 2013, and later discovered on August 25th of the same year that they had a child.”

She concluded her statement by adding, “This will be my final statement on this matter,” confirming that she would not be taking part in any further interviews.

The feud between Ganguly and Esha began earlier this year when the latter’s 2020 post, accusing Ganguly of inflicting physical, mental, verbal and emotional abuse on both her and her mum, went viral.

Rupali Ganguly has sent a Rs. 50-crore defamation notice to her stepdaughter, Esha Verma, following a series of allegations the latter made against her and her husband, Ashwin Verma, over the past week. 

Esha accused Rupali of interfering in her parents’ marriage and claimed the actress had physically assaulted her mother. She also alleged her father had been physically and emotionally abusive. In her latest Instagram video, Esha accused Rupali and Ashwin of bullying her and revealed that her father had asked her to take down her previous posts.

Elaborating on the defamation notice sent to Esha on Monday night, Rupali’s lawyer, Sana Raees Khan said, “We have issued a defamation notice to Esha in response to her false and damaging statements. Rupali is taking a firm stance against defamatory tactics and has decided to protect her reputation against unfounded claims. These baseless allegations were clearly aimed at harming Rupali’s reputation and exploiting her public standing. The accusations have caused significant emotional distress and unfairly tarnished her personal and professional image. If Esha does not issue a public apology and retract her posts immediately, we will proceed with legal action.”

Rupali married Ashwin in 2013, and they have a son, Rudransh. Ashwin has two daughters from his previous marriage, including 26-year-old Esha, who resides in New Jersey, USA, and claims her mother and Ashwin married in 1997 and separated in 2008.

On Tuesday afternoon, Rupali’s lawyer confirmed that Esha has taken down the defamatory posts following legal notice and deleted her X account. Sana said, “We see this as a meaningful step toward justice. This outcome reflects our victory for truth and accountability, reaffirming that reckless and harmful statements have no place in the public sphere. This sets a strong precedent on importance of responsible communication, especially when it concerns the reputation and dignity of others. However, we are awaiting her apology.”

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In the latest twist in the controversy between actor Rupali Ganguly and her stepdaughter Esha Verma, we have learnt that Rupali has sent a defamation notice to Esha. She is seeking a compensation of Rs. 50 crore. US-based Esha, via social media posts and interviews, had accused Rupali of having an affair with her father, businessperson Ashwin K Verma, while he was still married to her mother Sapna, and even administering substances to him. She has now made her Instagram account private.

Sana Raees Khan, Rupali’s lawyer, tells us, “We have issued a defamation notice to her stepdaughter in response to her false and damaging statements. Rupali firmly stands against the use of defamatory tactics for publicity and she has taken this legal step to protect her reputation from unfounded claims.”

The legal notice, a copy of which is in possession of HT City, states, among other things, that Rupali “always treated you well during your visits to India” and also “extended opportunities for you to break into the Indian entertainment industry.”

After breaking the news, we reached out to Esha. She chose not to reply, but put up an Instagram story soon afterwards — only to delete it later.

A 2020 Facebook post by Rupali Ganguly’s step-daughter, Esha Verma, resurfaced online two days ago, sparking a controversy. In the post, Esha had alleged that Rupali had an affair with her father, Ashwin K Verma (who the actress is currently married to) for 12 years, leading to his separation from her mother. The Anupamaa actress & Ashwin tied the knot in 2013 and have a son together.

Esha’s 2020 post read: “Does anyone know the real story of Rupali Ganguly? She has had an affair with Ashwin K Verma for 12 years while he was in his second marriage. Ashwin has two daughters from his previous marriages. She is nothing but a cruel-hearted woman who has done nothing but tried to separate me and my sister, his own daughters from their father.”

Reacting to the post which resurfaced, Ashwin put out a statement on X, which read, “I understand that my younger daughter still holds a lot of hurt about the dissolution of her parent’s relationship, as divorce is a difficult experience that can greatly affect and harm the children of that marriage.”

In his post, Ashwin added, “Marriages end for many reasons, and my relationship with my second wife had multiple challenges that led to our separation — challenges that were between she and I and that had nothing to do with any other person.”

Soon after this, on Monday, Esha, who is based in New Jersey, put out a statement saying that she stands by the claims she made in 2020. Excerpts from the post read, “This isn’t just a headline; it’s my life, my childhood, and the pain I endured then and still feel today. I’m choosing to stand by my experiences, because some truths need to be heard. Although I first spoke out about this four years ago, I’ve grown, matured and healed a lot since then.”

She added, “My father and his wife may deny these claims, but I believe their response is rooted in fear of the truth finally surfacing. I love my father deeply and idolized him, but he chose to exclude me from his life. Watching her rise in the entertainment world with a public image so far from reality has added to the hurt, especially as she plays a character who champions the values she disregarded in real life.”

When we reached out to Ashwin, he said that he has nothing more to say on the subject. Rupali did not comment till the time of going to press.

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On Sunday, a Reddit post went viral after a user shared snippets of an old Facebook comment made by Esha Verma, the daughter of businessman Ashwin K Verma. In the comment, Esha accused actor Rupali Ganguly of having an affair with her father while he was still married to her mother, describing Rupali as “cruel-hearted”. The post quickly made waves online, leading Ashwin to issue a statement on X denying the claims. In response, Esha posted on Instagram (see top right), saying, “There’s a darker side to this story... All I ask for is compassion as it unfolds.”

As we reach out to her, Esha reiterates, “My parents got married in 1997 and didn’t divorce till 2008. We have documentation to show that... Rupali has posed as if they (she and Ashwin) were friends and in love earlier than that. There are pictures of (Rupali) as an actor in the commercials my father directed. That’s where the affair began; he would film for three months at a time and come home (to New Jersey) for a short time. We didn’t know about it then, but Rupali pretty much knew about all of us.”

Ashwin and Rupali got married in 2013.

Esha’s post from 2021 with Rupali and Ashwin has also raised questions. The 26-year-old explains, “I posted that picture because I wanted to show he is my dad. He doesn’t acknowledge it; there are only pics of him with Rupali and their son on his account, but nowhere is a picture of me and my sister. They say they are a happy family, it’s like we are non existent.”

Esha wanted to keep contact with her father, but says, “Rupali threatened my mother. If I spoke to him on call, she’d scream in the background. She even cornered me when I went to visit him in Mumbai. She told me, ‘You will regret if you ever do this again or say you want your parents to meet’. I was always afraid to go to India and couldn’t stay longer than two days with him.”

The last message she got from her dad was a WhatsApp text telling her to take down the 2020 post, after which she deleted the app. She adds, “Rupali has no contact with me. The biggest risk is my father wouldn’t want me in his life at all, so it’s not much of a difference. I’m going to lose more than I gain from this. But this is my truth.”

We reached out to Rupali and her team for a reaction, but didn’t get a response till the time of going to press.