Actress Zarina Wahab has defended husband Aditya Pancholi after he was implicated in a sexual assault complaint filed by Kangana Ranaut, whom Mr Pancholi reportedly dated several years ago. "He has done no wrong," Ms Wahab told Deccan Chronicle in an interview earlier this week, also commenting on the validity of sexual misconduct allegations made after the ending of consensual relationships. After several years of speaking publicly alleged abuse and assault by Aditya Pancholi, Kangana Ranaut filed a police complaint this year about having been 'assaulted and exploited' by the actor 13 years ago; Mr Pancholi has, in turn, filed a case of defamation.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Zarina Wahab said, "I know him better than anyone else," she says. "He has never hidden anything from me. I know what has happened in the past. He has done no wrong."
Ms Wahab also told Deccan Chronicle, "You can't be in relationship with someone for years and then suddenly accuse him of rape just because the relationship has ended, or because the other person has moved on. It's just not right."
Zarina Wahab has never publicly censured Aditya Pancholi for his alleged affair with Kangana Ranaut. In 2017, she spoke exclusively to Pinkvilla about Ms Ranaut's claim that she had reached out to Ms Wahab for help during the alleged assault. "There is no question of this happening. If she is dating my husband, why should she come to me?" Zarina Wahab told Pinkvilla. She also said, "I read Kangana has said 'She (Zarina) used to treat her (Kangana) like a daughter..." This is completely untrue! When I knew she was dating my husband how can I say she's like my daughter?"
Kangana Ranaut allegedly dated Aditya Pancholi, who married Zarina Wahab in 1986, for four-and-a-half years in the early 2000s when she was starting out in Bollywood. On TV show Aap Ki Adalat many years later, Ms Ranaut accused Mr Pancholi of having beaten her up. In an interview with NDTV in 2016, she said, "When this man who used to be my father's age, he hit me so hard that my head was...I fell on my head on the floor and it started to bleed. I must have been 17 or something. I picked up my sandal and I hit his head hard and it started to bleed as well."
Aditya Pancholi was previously accused of allegedly raping actress Pooja Bedi's underage domestic help.
Kangana Ranaut has also conducted a public feud with another reported ex, actor Hrithik Roshan who denies they ever dated and has accused the actress of stalking him.
