Shabana Azmi opened up about her husband Javed Akhtar and Kangana Ranaut’s recently resolved defamation case and said that it was not a ‘mutual settlement’. The actor called out the media for referring to it as such and said that it was rather a victory for Javed and her lawyer as they received Kangana’s written apology.
Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, Shabana said, “They had asked for no monetary compensation but for her apology in writing. The victory is his and his lawyer Jay Bhardwaj’s. But I’m mystified why the press made it seem as though it was a mutual settlement but did not mention that it was the apology in writing which he was seeking and why he had fought the case for four and half years.”
In a report submitted to the court, Kangana said, “The statements made by me in the interview dated July 19, 2020 and thereafter were a result of misunderstanding. I hereby unconditionally withdraw all the statements made by me and I undertake not to repeat the same in future. I apologise for the inconvenience caused to Mr Javed Akhtar who is one of the senior most members of the film fraternity and I have highest regards for him.”
Javed, in the mediation report, said, “In view of the statements made by Ms Kangana Ranaut, I agree to withdraw the complaint.”
The legal battle started in 2020 when Kangana in an interview to a news channel after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput claimed that Javed had asked her to issue an apology to Hrithik Roshan over their public spat in 2016. Kangana said in the interview, “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.”
Javed had filed a defamation case against her, calling her statement in the interview as a lie. In 2021, Kangana had filed a counter-complaint against Javed, alleging criminal intimidation and insult to modesty.