After Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao issued a joint statement on Wednesday night announcing that they will be 'stepping away' from a film because of sexual misconduct allegations against a team member, Mogul producer Bhushan Kumar told Indian Express that Subhash Kapoor - who is believed to be the person Aamir and Kiran meant in their statement - will no longer direct the film, a biopic of Bhushan Kumar's father, slain T-Series founder Gulshan Kumar. Neither Mr Kapoor nor Mogul, which Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao were meant to co-produce, have been named in the statement released yesterday by Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao. Subhash Kapoor also told Indian Express that he respects Mr Khan's decision and hopes to clear himself in court.
Subhash Kapoor is accused of molesting actor Geetika Tyagi in 2014 and the matter is in court. "It is our foremost duty to make our industry safe for everyone, make an industry that creates environment of equality and a better place to work. With the on-going proceedings against the director that have been brought to our notice, everyone at T-Series has decided to not work with the director," Bhushan Kumar told Indian Express.
Asked if this meant that Aamir Khan would get back on board again after Subhash Kapoor's exit, Mr Kumar told the Indian Express, "That I can't comment now as you can understand from his tweet he has nothing against us but director."
Subhash Kapoor has essentially named himself as the 'someone' in the statement, telling Indian Express: "I understand and respect Aamir Khan's and Kiran Rao's decision. Since matter is subjudice, I intend to prove my innocence in the court of law. But I do want to raise a question - is secretly filming a crying woman without her consent and knowledge and uploading it on social media not harassment or abuse? Or is it fine if she is related to someone who is "accused" of a misconduct. If your answer is latter then for me it's nothing less than a khaap panchayat mentality."
Quoting Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao's statement, Geetika Tyagi thanked the couple and wrote, "This is commendable and this is the kind of support we want so that more and more women can come out. Thank you."
This is COMMENDABLE and this is the kind of support we want so that more and more women can come out. Thank you @aamir_khan thank you #KiranRao #TimesUp #MeTooMovement https://t.co/dIDr88Mh9L
— Geetika Tyagi (@TyagiGeetika) October 10, 2018
Earlier this week, Ms Tyagi pointed out that even though the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI) had dropped films by directors or actors accused of harassment, Kiran Rao, the chairperson of MAMI, and Aamir Khan were still associated with Subhash Kapoor.
Although @MumbaiFilmFest hs disassociated itslf frm directors&producer whose names have come out in #Metoo movement but I hope its chairperson #KiranRao remembers tht @aamir_khan her husband hmslf is working wth #subhashkapoor who's being prosecuted for sexual assault&molestation
— Geetika Tyagi (@TyagiGeetika) October 9, 2018
In their statement, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao say their production house has a zero tolerance policy towards sexual harassment and they believe that the #MeToo movement is a chance for the film industry to clean house.
— Aamir Khan (@aamir_khan) October 10, 2018
Akshay Kumar was cast as Gulshan Kumar in Mogul before backing out over creative differences.
Several film fraternity members have been outed as alleged sexual predators in the last two weeks, among them actors Nana Patekar and Alok Nath.
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