Kangana Ranaut, Javed Akhtar settle defamation case; actor apologises for inconvenience to lyricist

Mumbai, Feb 28 (PTI) Actor Kangana Ranaut on Friday resolved the over four-year-long defamation case filed against her by veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar through mediation, with the BJP MP apologising for the “inconvenience” caused to the screenwriter.

The duo appeared before a special court here on Friday and informed it of their decision to withdraw the complaints they had filed against each other. After the court appearance, the actor also posted a photo on her social media platform along with Akhtar, stating that they have resolved the legal matter.

The court will pass a formal order on this later in the day.

The actor said she made the statement against Akhtar due to misunderstanding, and apologised for the inconvenience caused to him due to it.

Akhtar had filed a complaint against Ranaut in 2020, alleging that she had defamed and damaged his ‘immaculate reputation’ by dragging his name into actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death in an interview with a news channel in July that year.

Ranaut had later filed a cross complaint against Akhtar, alleging criminal intimidation and insult to modesty.

She had claimed that during her meeting with Akhtar at his residence in 2016, he criminally intimidated her, demanding that she apologise to a co-star.

Ranaut’s lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee and Akhtar’s advocate Jay Kumar Bhardwaj said the matter was settled through an hour-long mediation before a special magistrate court in Bandra.

Ranaut stated before the mediator that she made the statement due to misunderstanding and she has decided to withdraw it, Bhardwaj told PTI.

Ranaut has apologised to Akhtar for inconvenience caused to him due to her statement, he said, adding that she has undertaken not to make such a statement in future.

Siddiqque said, “We were looking for mediation for a long time. We had exchanged drafts also. Finally we have resolved the case.”

“There were no issues, only the wordings were to be decided, which was done today. We prepared the draft, signed it and both the cases were withdrawn today,” he added.

The case was initially heard by a magistrate court in Andheri.

In 2024, after she was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) from the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency in Himachal Pradesh, the matter was transferred to a special magistrate court designated for matters involving MPs and MLAs.

In his complaint, Akhtar claimed that Ranaut dragged his name during an interview while referring to a ‘coterie’ existing in Bollywood, following the alleged suicide by actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Ranaut posted a photo with Akhtar on Instagram and said the cinema veteran was “kind and gracious” during the mediation process.

“Today, Javedji and I have resolved 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,” the BJP MP wrote in the caption.