Kangana Ranaut accused Anurag Kashyap of having "cheated on all his partners". (File)
Actor Kangana Ranaut on Sunday said filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, with whom she shares a publicly acrimonious relationship over political leanings, is "very much capable" of sexual assault as alleged by a colleague, while accusing "many big heroes" of doing the same to her.
Lending her support to actor Payal Ghosh, who came out with sensational allegations against Mr Kashyap on Saturday, Ms Ranaut tweeted, "Anurag self admittedly has never been monogamous even when he was married to various people, what Anurag did to Payal is a common practice in Bullywood, treating struggling outsider girls like sex workers comes naturally to them."
Anurag Kashyap and Kangana Ranaut have frequently exchanged bitter notes on Twitter. Ms Ranaut is a vocal supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP while Mr Kashyap has been a sharp critic of the government.
Rejecting a call by a journalist to name and file a complaint against those who assaulted her, Ms Ranaut wrote, "I did hit them where it hurts the most I settle my own scores, take my own revenge, I don't ask eunuchs like you for help."
Ms Ranaut's endorsement of allegations against Anurag Kashyap come a day after Payal Ghosh accused the 48-year-old director and producer of sexual assault - allegations which he dismissed in a series of late-night tweets, saying this is "an attempt to silence me".
Ms Ghosh, who made her Bollywood debut in 2017 with the movie 'Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi', on Saturday alleged that Mr Kashyap "had forced himself on me". She also made an appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help her.
"@anuragkashyap72 has forced himself on me and extremely badly. @PMOIndia @narendramodi ji, kindly take action and let the country see the demon behind this creative guy. I am aware that it can harm me and my security is at risk. Pls help! (sic)," her tweet read.
Anurag Kashyap, known for directing and producing many critically acclaimed movies such as 'Gangs of Wasseypur' and 'Queen', tweeted: "It took you so long to make an attempt to silence me. Never mind... in a bid to silence me, you have dragged another woman in this, despite being a woman. Please stick to the limits, Madame. All I want to say is all allegations are baseless."
"Whether it's my first wife or second, or a girlfriend... or all those actresses who worked with me... or all those female colleagues who have been working with me... I don't indulge in such behaviour in public or otherwise. neither do I tolerate such behaviour," he wrote in Hindi.
Among those who came out in Mr Kashyap's defence were his first wife Aarti Bajaj and actor Taapsee Pannu.
Calling it the "cheapest stunt I have seen till now", Ms Bajaj wrote on her Instagram page, "The first wife here... You are a rockstar @anuragkashyap10. Keep empowering women as you do and the safest place you create for all of them. I see it first hand with our daughter. There is no integrity left and the world is full of losers and no brains baying for the blood of anyone who has a voice. If everybody spends that energy which they use in hating others constructively this world will be a better place."
Ms Pannu, who worked with Mr Kashyap in 'Manmarziyaan', shared a photo of them and wrote, "For you, my friend, are the biggest feminist I know. See you on the sets soon of yet another piece of art that shows how powerful and significant women are in the world you create."