The actress' business partner has now released a statement acknowledging the possibility of a rip-off and, in what appears to be a damning admission, claims Anushka played little or no role in the design process. This effectively dismantles the '9 hour meetings' that she apparently participated in, prompting her mother to urge her to eat. In one promotional video for NUSH, Anushka Sharma's voice is heard pleading for pockets to be added in a garment.
The official statement from Pawan Agarwal of Suditi Industries says: "We have just got to know about the discrepancies in some designs of our brand NUSH and we are taking strict action about the same. Our process at Suditi industries was that the entire responsibility of designing and procuring samples was at our end and we have recently realised that some of our procured designs from the Chinese manufacturer were being available elsewhere too. This not only is a serious design and procurement process lapse from our design and procurement team but also a breach of trust by the manufacturing company in china with us. We are taking serious actions, internally and externally, against this breach of faith"
The statement later says: "We would also like to take this opportunity to mention and clarify that our business partner Ms. Anushka Sharma was never part of our designing and procuring process. She was only involved in advising us on the styles that could go on the floor based on her personal style and sensibility for which she had dedicated a lot of her time and effort."
This video, released as part of promotions for NUSH, shows Anushka Sharma saying “Pocket daal do, yaar” and appears to suggest a greater degree of involvement in the designing of the label than claimed by the statement:
NUSH, available at Shopper's Stop and Myntra from tomorrow, is accused of copying garments from Chinese retail sites, specifically a black flowered bomber jacket, a parka, a pink bomber jacket, a tan trench coat and a pair of striped pants - the first two of these items can be seen in this image:
A rep for Anushka Sharma told Mumbai Mirror, "Several discrepancies have come to light over the last two days and we are in the process of getting to the bottom of this. We will not stop at taking the most stringent action required to resolve the situation and will share more details when we have complete clarity on the matter."
Anushka Sharma, last seen in the film Jab Harry Met Sejal with Shah Rukh Khan, is the third actress to front a clothing range recently after Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor.
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