Javed Akhtar reveals he was ‘embarrassed’ by Kangana Ranaut’s claims against him: ‘People did not let me….’

Lyricist Javed Akhtar filed a defamation case against Kangana Ranaut in November 2020 after the actress alleged that the lyricist threatened to sabotage her career, which would lead her to suicide. The lyricist now revealed that he filed the case because he was humiliated and embarrassed by the actress’ claims. 

According to India Today, Javed Akhtar denied Kangana Ranaut’s claims and said, “In the magazine interview, she only said I had threatened her, but I did not react to it. She had not said that I threatened her by saying that she would have to commit suicide. But in a television interview in July 2020, she improvised, and as everyone was speaking about suicide, she said all this.”

He added, “This was not earlier. Suicide had become a buzzword after Sushant Singh Rajput’s death and she used it to make an allegation that I was from some suicide brigade and that I was forcing her to commit suicide. If it was so, she would have mentioned it in her first statement in the magazine.”

Javed Akhtar said that he would have ‘forgotten’ about it but many people had an ‘extreme reaction’ to it and didn’t let him forget this. The lyricist said, “I was very upset and may have chosen to ignore it. We are lazy people who are concerned with the creative field. It took me 4-5 months to file this case as I saw that it was not going away. I was under tremendous pressure. I was feeling humiliated. People did not let me forget it, and it was getting bigger and more and more embarrassing, so I had to file this complaint.”

Kangana Ranaut and Javed Akhtar’s interaction happened after the actress was involved in a war of words with Hrithik Roshan. The lyricist revealed that he had talked with both of them and asked them to apologize to each other. He said, “I tried to convince her by saying that only people are having fun at hearing all this while her name is being muddied and it would affect her career. However, Ranaut was not receptive to my suggestion as I had a very formal relationship with her, so I was not able to insist after a point and I told her to forget about these things. We parted on a friendly note.” 

After Sushant Rajput’s demise, Kangana Ranaut told Pinkvilla, “Once Javed Akhtar had called me to his house and told me that Rakesh Roshan and his family are very big people. If you don’t apologize to them, you will have nowhere to go. They will put you in jail, and eventually, the only path would be that of destruction…you will commit suicide. These were his words. Why did he think if I don’t apologize to Hrithik Roshan, I would have to commit suicide? He shouted and yelled at me. I was shaking in his house.” 

Javed Akhtar will be cross-examined by Kangana Ranaut’s lawyer on June 12

Read Javed Akhtar opens up on his legal battle with Kangana Ranaut