Kapil Sharma’s former creative director and rumoured ex-girlfriend Preeti Simoes talks about the police complaint he has lodged against her and what went wrong between them
Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; April 8, 2018)

Preeti Simoes has finally broken her silence. A lot has happened in the last two days, with actor-comedian Kapil Sharma posting a barrage of tweets against a media person and lodging a police complaint against Preeti, her sister Neeti and the journalist, accusing them of maligning him. Preeti and Neeti were a part of Kapil’s production house until last year, after which they had a fallout. It was also rumoured that Preeti and Kapil were in a relationship for the past eight years.

However, things soured between them after Kapil announced his engagement with his long-time girlfriend Ginny Chatrath on social media in March last year.

We spoke to Preeti, who was very upset about what recently transpired and she said, “I haven’t received any legal notice from him or got any call from the cops yet.” About Kapil accusing her of maligning him, she said, “He should prove it before accusing me of such things. Stories of him not turning up at shoots can’t be planted by me. People get to know when an actor cancels a shoot. There was news about Rani Mukerji waiting at her home to leave for Kapil’s shoot. Is she on my speed dial for me to know and spread news about her being made to wait for hours? That’s ridiculous.”

Talking about the role she played in Kapil’s production house, Preeti said, “I don’t care whether people call me the creative director or co-producer of his last show or his manager; I was practically managing his life. He never cancelled a shoot when I was working with him. Also, he has accused us of making him lose out on a lot of work. I want to know what work he has lost out on. He was at the peak of his career when my sister and I were associated with him. And if all these accusations are true, then why is he reaching out to us for a collaboration now? Kapil came to my home a couple of days ago to discuss a possible collaboration on the work front. I agreed and told him that this time it will be strictly professional. In fact, we were planning to bring the entire team together in a few months. However, he went back home and messaged me that his girlfriend (Ginni Chatrath) didn’t want us to collaborate again. After what has happened now, there will never be a collaboration between us,” she replied.

Preeti may be upset about Kapil’s outburst, but she is equally concerned about his health. “I have only one thing to say, ‘Get well soon, Kapil, clear the mess and take charge of your health.’ This is not the Kapil I know. He is saying things that show that he has no control over himself. He was in the best phase of his life and career when we were with him. It’s upsetting... I can’t see him ruin his life. I feel helpless. I have been in love with this person and it hurts me to see him in this condition. I want to request his mother and Ginny to take care of him. He is a great artiste and I want him to bounce back,” she signed off.

How can you harass a man who is under medication for anxiety issues: Kapil Sharma’s lawyer

BT reached out to Kapil Sharma, but he did not respond to our calls. His lawyer Tanveer Nizam said, “We have reached out to the police and they will verify the veracity of the charges levelled against the trio and the monetary transfers made by them for planting stories about my client. We will make sure that such a thing is not repeated with Kapil Sharma. This has been a conspiracy by the trio to trouble Kapil, who has worked hard to get where he is today. He has been bearing it silently for the past one year. Even if you hear the telephonic conversation between Kapil and the journalist, there are intermittent breaks and hasn’t captured the whole conversation. There is no smoke without fire. So, if he is accusing them of maligning him for money, it could be so. They will have to come out clean during the investigation. How can you harass a man who is under medication for anxiety issues? This is the same person who has brought smiles upon millions of faces. How can you tell him that he doesn’t even know English or question his upbringing. Misunderstandings need to be sorted out in a mature way. We have clear strategy to counter his defaming articles in a civil and criminal relief.”

Will his show Family Time With Kapil Sharma air next week?
Kapil Sharma’s TV show Family Time With Kapil Sharma did not air this weekend, as the comedian didn’t shoot for the episode. Shared a channel source, “Since we didn’t have a bank, we couldn’t air a new episode this weekend. We aired the episodes of his previous show instead. What will happen next weekend is something that we are not clear about yet.”

SpotboyE editor Vickey Lalwani and Kapil Sharma's former staffers, Neeti and Preeti Simoes, named in complaint, have refuted allegations
Samiullah Khan (MID-DAY; April 8, 2018)

Actor Kapil Sharma has sent a written complaint to the Oshiwara police station asking them to investigate a journalist for extortion and harassment at the instance of two of his former managers. The application was sent to the Oshiwara police on Friday evening.

In the application filed through Sharma's lawyer, Tanveer Nizam, the actor has stated that Vickey Lalwani, editor of the news agency SpotboyE, and two of his (Sharma's) former managers Neeti and Preeti Simoes have been harassing him, causing mental and emotional suffering.

He informed the police that much of his coordination in 2016 and 2017 had been handled by Neeti and Preeti and they knew a lot about his personal life. "I terminated my business relationship with them after some serious gaps in their performance resulted in my losing several commitments and caused me unnecessary embarrassment."

Six months ago, one of Kapil Sharma's close associates was allegedly approached by a person, who demanded Rs 25 lakh saying they had a lot of personal information on Sharma, which could bring him down. As Sharma did not pay, the application states, more personal information was released to show him in negative and poor light.

Sharma has claimed that the false and malicious publicity affected him emotionally and he sought professional counselling and is also under medication. Senior inspector of Oshiwara police station Subhash Khanvilkar said that they have asked Sharma to record his statement. "We will verify the authenticity of his application and decide on a legal course of action," he said.

Vickey Lalwani says
Lalwani countered the allegations. He said, "Sharma called me and spoke rubbish about my daughter. If someone doesn't want to do an interview or avoid certain questions, it is only fair. But, this kind of language and intimidation are unpardonable. All we did was report about the cancellation of a shoot, which is public information anyway. What damning evidence can SpotboyE have about a harmless comedian? We haven't got any notice. My company and I have filed a complaint against him of criminal intimidation, abuse and threat. I have no connection with Preeti and Neeti Simoes."

Preeti Simoes says
Preeti Simoes told mid-day, "We had no idea he was going to name us in a notice for extortion. It's been almost a year since we worked with Sharma. I think that he is affected by the fact that we've all moved on. He had decided to end the show. We can't keep waiting for him all our lives. No notice has come to me. It has been uploaded on Twitter like his other tweets. When it comes to me on paper, whatever I can do to cooperate with the law, I will."