Menacing dark clouds have been hovering over those whose names have been accused of sexual harassment in the wake of the #MeToo movement. One such name is that of filmmaker Luv Ranjan. This morning, the news of an actress, who withheld her identity, accused the Pyaar Ka Punchnama director of sexual harassment. Hours after the news broke out, Ajay Devgn announced that he condemns those whose names have been cropped up and that he and his production house, ADF, is no longer associated with them. That got fans wondering if he was hinting at Luv, since the two of them were expected to work on a project soon. Ajay Devgn Condemns Luv Ranjan After An Actress Accuses Him of Sexual Harassment.
Now denying the allegations made against him, Luv has tried to justify himself but at the same time, apologised because he thinks, his narrative of the story will not be considered as the truth anyway. In a statement issued to the media, Luv said:
"This has probably been the longest day of my life. Since the time I have read the allegations, I have been wanting to react to them. I have been wanting to shout out loud that everyone has gone mad, I have been wanting to scream that I am not this man, I have been wanting to clear my name. Friends and Family have shown great support, support that has made me indebted to them for life.
I am very aware of the fact I am the man who made Pyaar ka Punchnama and it becomes very easy for someone who doesn’t know me personally to believe that I am guilty. Am I guilty? I have been wanting to scream out loud that I am not. I have never misbehaved with a woman, never touched a woman who isn’t in love with me and I with her, I haven’t sexted, flirted, molested or harassed a woman. I haven’t. #MeToo in Bollywood: Luv Ranjan Asked If I Use Condoms or Masturbate, Claims Actress
After getting rid of my anger towards the whole thing I have come to realize a few things -
It doesn’t matter that I believe I haven’t done anything wrong, what matters is that someone has felt wronged.
I have made a lot of effort in life to make women around me feel safe and comfortable which women who have known me or worked with me will vouch for. I have never intended to hurt someone, and taken utmost care to make sure that I don’t and in my heart I know I haven’t. But again what matters is that someone has felt hurt. Can I be so arrogant about myself to ignore that even if unintended, someone has got hurt. I can vouch for my intention but I can’t decide how someone should feel.
It doesn’t matter that I don’t accept the narrative, what matters is that someone feels hurt enough to present this narrative. I am not the man that I am being portrayed as. I am not. I never was, I never will be.
Yet I apologise to who ever I have caused hurt, who ever I have not made feel comfortable enough. I apologise for not being able to communicate my intent. I apologise for not being able to make someone feel that I am the man that I have aspired to be and I believe I am."
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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 12, 2018 10:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).