5 things Javed Akhtar said about his meeting with Kangana
Javed Akhtar and Kangana Ranaut have been embroiled in a legal battle since 2020 after the former filed a defamation suit against Ranaut. On Tuesday, Akhtar appeared before the Andheri Metropolitan Magistrate court revealing details about the time when he called Ranaut to his home for "giving advice" on her public spat with Hrithik Roshan. Here are five things he reportedly told the court.
Why does this story matter?
Akhtar invited Ranaut to his residence in 2016 to give the actor some advice on her public scuffle with Roshan. Akhtar claimed Ranaut knew the purpose of the meeting. Later, in 2020, Ranaut, in an interview, claimed Akhtar threatened her to not speak on the Roshan issue during the meeting. Following this, the lyricist filed a defamation case against the Emergency actor.
First, know all about Ranaut-Roshan's controversy
After Ranaut and Roshan starred in Krrish 3, there were reports of them dating, followed by breakup rumors. However, the two maintained silence until Ranaut called him her "silly ex" in an interview when she was asked if she was ousted from Aashiqui 3 due to Roshan. Later, Roshan sent her a legal notice over it. This was followed by a public blame game.
He called her at the behest of a mutual friend
Per India Today's report, Akhtar said that he invited her at the behest of a common friend. "It's true that I did not know Ranaut and I have nothing to do with the ongoing controversy with Roshan. But she was called by Dr. (Ramesh) Agarwal who had a close relationship with her. (Agarwal) could call her and insist on her (meeting)," he said.
Ranaut wasn't ready to listen to Akhtar
He further told the court that she arrived with her sister Rangoli Chandel, but wasn't ready to listen to him. "It is true to say that Kangana was not ready to listen to my words and she left the house with her elder sister Rangoli. It is not true to say that she was upset with my statement despite politely coming for the meeting."
Ranaut was aware of the meeting's agenda
Akhtar claimed that Ranaut was well aware of the meeting's agenda beforehand. He said that when he called to invite her, he already told her why they were meeting. "I had told her about the agenda of the meeting on call. Didn't call her to discuss the weather, political situation, or American election in 2016," he told the court.
After a while, he changed the topic of discussion
The National Film Award-winning writer also reportedly said that when he realized Ranaut would not listen to what he had to say, he decided to change the topic of the conversation. The veteran lyricist told the bench that though he did not know the Manikarnika: Queen of Jhansi actor on a personal level, he did like her work as an actor.
On whether Ranaut came obediently to his house
The court asked Akhtar if the Ranaut sisters came to his house "obediently." To this, Akhtar was quoted by news agency PTI as saying, "You expect obedience from Kangana, it is not called obedience, but (the) possibility for something...some kind of a solution. Physical reality is they came to my house, but obedience is a notion only in mind."
