Bollywood actress and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut has announced that peace has ensued in the defamation lawsuit filed by musical maestro and lyricist Javed Akhtar in 2020. Taking to her Instagram, the actress shared a photo of herself and a smiling Akhtar, revealing that they have settled their legal dispute. Ranaut further added that Akhtar has agreed to write songs for her next film. “Today Javed ji and I gave reached our legal matter (defamation case) through mediation, in the mediation Javed ji has been very kind and gracious, he also agreed to write songs for my next directorial [sic],” she wrote in the caption.
The final hearing comes after Ranaut was issued a warning earlier this month by the Mumbai court for repeated absences from scheduled court hearings. The Emergency actress’ advocate Rizwan Siddiquee said she could not appear before the court due to her parliamentary obligations. Akhtar’s lawyer Jay K Bhardwaj requested the court to issue a non-bailable warrant against the actress. The court then gave Ranaut a final chance to appear in court.
What happened between Kangana Ranaut and Javed Akhtar?
The issue began in March 2016, when Akhtar allegedly urged Ranaut to apologise to actor Hrithik Roshan over a public dispute the pair were entangled in. While the news of this supposed meeting in Akhtar’s residences was not public at the time, it later erupted in 2020 when Ranaut, in a news channel post the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, revealed that such a meeting had taken place.
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“Once Javed Akhtar called me to his house and told me Rakesh Roshan (father of Hrithik Roshan) and his family are very big people. If you don't apologise 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. He shouted and yelled at me. I was shaking in his house," Ranaut shared on the news channel.
Upon hearing the comments, Akhtar filed a defamation lawsuit against the actress, while Ranaut countered with her own lawsuit, accusing the lyricist of pressuring her to apologise.
