Three weeks after filmmaker Ketan Mehta alleged that Kangana Ranaut ‘hijacked’ his film, the queen of Jhansi, and sent a legal notice to the actress Kangana Ranaut, he has now approached the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) demanding Ranaut to be booked for cheating and breach of trust.
Mehta and Ranaut split after she announced that Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi alias Krish will be directing her next venture, a new biopic on the legendary Queen, titled Manikarnika – the Queen of Jhansi. Jagarlamudi also directed Akshay Kumar-starrer Gabbar is Back.
Mehta has alleged he and his team were already in talks with Ranaut for more than a year for a similar project.
“We shared various versions of the script and sketch materials with Kangana Ranaut. We were shocked when we came to know that she was making the film within someone else and that’s why we also sent her a legal notice. We have been working on this project for 10 years now and it’s a labour of love. They have hijacked our project and that is not acceptable,” told Mehta to the Mirror while confirming that he had indeed approached the EOW against the actress.
Mehta has alleged in his complaint that he has suffered a loss of at least Rs 9 crore due to Ranaut hijacking the project and that the actress had already started shooting for his project before leaving it abruptly.
However, Ranaut has already denied the allegations, saying both projects were completely different. Even her lawyer, Rizwan Siddiquee, has maintained the statement that the actress hadn’t done anything wrong. “My client knows she has not committed any moral or legal wrong, therefore such ridiculous and baseless claims or complaints will not deter her in any manner. The facts of the matter and the evidence will reveal the truth,” he said in the same report.
A senior EOW officer has said that a FIR will be filed only after a thorough investigation. “Ketan Mehta has submitted a written complaint, seeking an FIR into the matter. A probe is on and Kangana Ranaut will be summoned to record her version,” the officer said.
