Filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani has spoken out on the allegations made by actor Kangana Ranaut recently. The ex-chief of the Censor Board has given a detailed interview to a news agency stating that he had gone from ‘pillar to post’ to help Kangana come out of troubles in the past and therefore, it’s shocking to hear her say that he had exploited her. Nihalani talked to IANS and said that Kangana has forgotten how desperately she wanted to be cast in his film and now that she’s successful, she’s finding it easier to talk against him.
The filmmaker was quoted by the agency saying, “Does Kangana remember how desperately she needed this role in my film I Love You Boss, which she is now calling porn, and how much she requested me to cast her? Kangana had gone around the entire film industry with Aditya Pancholi knocking on every producer’s door for work. But it didn’t happen. No one signed her. Only I ventured to sign her, although I was advised against it.”
Kangana, on a chat show recently revealed that she was asked to wear a robe without undergarments while shooting for Nihalani’s film. She said, “The fact that people met and promised to guide and help me, but then I was put under house arrest. And then Pahlaj Nihalani had offered me a film called I Love You Boss. They had a photoshoot where they gave me a robe to wear and no undergarments. So, I just had a satin robe for a show-girl pose, from which I had to stick my leg out, coming out of darkness.”
Nihalani reacted to the same accusation and said that he wasn’t present at the venue of the shoot, therefore, his name shouldn’t be embroiled in this. He said, “First of all, I wasn’t even there when the photo-shoot for the film happened. She had gone for the shoot with her then-secretary Rakesh Nath, who also looked after Madhuri Dixit. So what she wore for the photo-shoot or didn’t wear was not my lookout.” aHe also went on to say that while Kangana calls director Anurag Basu her mentor, it was him who offered her work first. He said that Kangana left his film despite being under contract citing that actor Zarina Wahab (Aditya Pancholi’s wife) had asked her to not work with Shatrughan Sinha in his film.
Nihalani was quoted saying, “Kangana was contract-bound for three films with me. But when she asked me if she could do Anurag’s film I released her from the contract. Does she talk about this ever? Or does she talk about the time when she was in big trouble for giving the wrong Mumbai address on her passport when she had to fly out to shoot for Ritesh Sidhwani’s film? Misinformation on the passport is a serious criminal matter. I ran from pillar to post to bail her out of trouble. And this is how she repays me? By accusing me of exploiting her?”
