Celebs and their legal woes

Days after the controversial arrest of comedian Kiku Sharda for imitating Gurmeet Ram Rahim on a TV show, the All India Hindu Federation has filed a complaint against the self-proclaimed godman and MSG actor for dressing up as Lord Vishnu in a video. “A day before yesterday, I received a clip of Gurmeet Ram Rahim on my mobile through social media. In the video, he is seen dressing up as Lord Vishnu. That hurt my feelings,“ said All India Hindu Federation chief Nishant Sharma to MumbaiMirror.com. Reportedly, the complaint has been registered in the Zirakpur police station and an investigation is underway. Nishant, however, said the case has not yet been filed by the police. “We called a meeting. Today we are going to meet the DGP and if the complaint is still not filed then we will approach the court. We have always worked to carry forward the ideology of sanatan dharm and we will continue to do so,“ he added. He also said they have requested that a case should be filed against the Dera Sacha Sauda leader for hurting religious sentiments.
Will MSG actor land in trouble? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, click the next slide to know whether Rakesh Roshan will land an actor-cum-scriptwriter in trouble…

Recently, actor Sudhanshu Pandey accused filmmaker Rakesh Roshan and Sanjay Gupta of stealing his script for an upcoming film starring Hrithik Roshan. According to Sudhanshu, he initially showed the script to filmmaker Gupta. Impressed with it, he took the script to Balaji Telefilms, who also came on board. Later, when they approached Hrithik with the same, he agreed and brought Rakesh Roshan on board. However, Sudhanshu claims that Rakesh and Gupta offered him a two percent profit but without any credit for the script. This was when Sudhanshu accused Rakesh and Gupta. But now, according to a report on Mid-Day, Rakesh is planning to sue Sudhanshu for defamation.

Only time will tell who is speaking the truth among the two parties. Meanwhile, click the following slide to know why a complaint against Aamir Khan was filed…

Complaint against Aamir Khan for calling cops 'thulla' in 'PK'


Aamir Khan's film PK may have been in news for several reasons before and after its release. And it continues to do so as a documentary filmmaker from Delhi has apparently filed an official complaint with the Delhi Police against Aamir for allegedly using a derogatory word for police personnel in the film, reports Dnaindia.com. According to the report, the Delhi police department have confirmed the same on Sunday (August 2, 2015), and said that they are looking into the matter. The filmmaker was quoted saying that he filed the complaint after he came to know about a series of other complaints lodged against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had allegedly used a derogatory term for Delhi police last month in a television interview.


Read on to know how an assistant director landed in trouble over unnatural sex with wife...

According to reports, the Versova police arrested an assistant film director after his wife alleged that he had forced her to have unnatural sex with him in the past and was harassing her for money. The wife is a fashion designer and a former Miss India finalist. The accused was booked for dowry harassment and forcible unnatural sex offences. He was remanded in police custody for three days. The couple had a love marriage in 2007 and the victim claims to have been abused since then. They had a daughter in 2008. The woman has been quoted in the report as saying that she had visited the police station about 5 times in the last one year, but the authorities refused to take down her complaint after which she approached police commissioner, Rakesh Maria. This was when her case was finally registered.

(Picture used for representational purposes only.)

Jackie Shroff stepped in to file a defamation case against his wife Ayesha Shroff's former business partner Sahil Khan. As per a report on Pinkvilla.com, Jackie decided to file a case against Sahil Khan for defaming his wife. The report also mentioned that the Style actor had reportedly furbished pictures of him with Ayesha Shroff in a compromising position and alleged that the two were more than just professional partners. Ayesha is said to have filed a suit against Sahil for cheating her of Rs 5 crore which she had given him to buy gifts for her family. Instead, he had used the money to buy himself expensive gifts. Further to reports on Pinkvilla.com, Ayesha had claimed that Sahil Khan was gay and that his wife divorced him for those reasons.

According to a report on Ibnlive.com, the Lucknow police had lodged an FIR against director Karan Johar and actors Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor for their participation in the controversial AIB Roast. The complaint was filed by a Lucknow-based activist, Kailash Chandra Pandey.

In his complaint, the activist reasoned that the controversial video has 'vulgar' content and goes 'against Indian culture'.

The activist revealed that he watched the video when he found his 9-year-old son watching it on a mobile phone after it was downloaded from YouTube. He further said that it was shocking for him to find his son watching such a video. He stressed on discouraging circulating such stuff saying that it would have adverse effect on our culture.

In another report on Ndtv.com, a court in Mumbai also ordered an FIR against the three celebrities and comedy group AIB. A local court acted on a petition by social activist Santosh Daundkar who found the show commercial, vulgar, obscene and pornographic.

According to a Mid-day report, filmmaker Sanjay Gupta had filed a case against producer Vinod Bachchan for alleged harassment and extortion. Gupta accused Bachchan of sending him a 'fake' legal notice demanding a refund of Rs 50 lakh as compensation for a project that failed to take off. In the report, Sanjay Gupta's lawyer, Madhu Chaudhary stated that Sanjay has filed a case against Vinod Bachchan for extortion, defamation and cheating as the former had already paid Rs 49.5 lakh as compensation to the latter in April last year. She further revealed that a case has been registered with the Versova police.

According to a report on Indiatoday.in, Bollywood music composer Ismail Darbar was arrested in an assault case filed by an assistant director, a day after the composer's son and two others were held in custody over the same issue. The composer was however, granted bail when presented in court. Ismail's son Zaid and his friends, Nishant Singh and Mohsin Khan were also arrested and later granted bail. The arrests were fallout of a complaint lodged by assistant director, Prashant Choudhary, who was involved in a payment dispute with Darbar. The alleged assault on the assistant director apparently took place in the parking lot of a building in suburban Andheri. In his complaint, the assistant director alleged that the composer had been repeatedly evading him after he sought his pending dues related to a project he did for the composer.

According to a report, a Bengaluru-based artist Vidushini Prasad decided to send a legal notice to the family of actor and BJP functionary Shatrughan Sinha claiming that the image of Ganesha printed on the wedding invite of his son Kush was lifted from her collection without permission. Kush Sinha's wedding with Taruna Agarwal, the daughter of a prominent NRI family from London, was held in Mumbai on January 6, 2015, the report stated. Speaking to TOI, Prasad said, "I've spoken to my lawyer. We're not accusing the Sinha family but we will send a notice to them as we don't know which agency designed it for them." Reportedly, the image used on the invite was a Madhubani-style painting from the signature collection Prasad had done for a city lifestyle store for their Ganesha festival collection last year. "I'd done about 35 paintings for the store. I did not expect a card meant for such a reputed family will be designed by agencies or people who steal. I hope it does not happen with any other artist," the report quoted Vidushini.

In a retort of sorts, Pooja Bedi who was booked under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, claimed to have been falsely accused. Pooja said that she was appalled at the way lawmakers function. In an interview with Bombay Times, Pooja said, “How can the police accept a complaint against me when I wasn’t even there at the scene of the fight that night? I’m so beleaguered and bewildered by this absolutely unsubstantiated, unwarranted attack against me and my daughter. They have brought up something on my dead mother; my relationship with my father and everything that is absolutely disconnected from the real issue. The FIR I filed is for protection; the case they are trying to implicate me in is false.” In a report in Mumbai Mirror, Pooja was quoted as saying, "I have had zero contact with her daughter. I have never met her, nor exchanged any SMS with her. How can the cops book me under Section 12 of the POCSO Act for unwelcome sexual remarks, emails or telephone calls?" Pooja Bedi's daughter, Alia Furniturewalla and late film director Ramanand Sagar's great granddaughter, Saakshi, were involved in a fight during their pub outing which led to their mothers filing a complaint against each other. Both parties had alleged that the other group was drunk and misbehaving. According to the complaint filed by Meenakshi, she was dancing alongside her daughter and a friend when Alia and her friends, celebrating the latter's birthday, began bullying Saakshi. Pooja Bedi on the other hand alleged that her daughter was merely supporting a friend who was being publicly humiliated by Meenakshi, who was drunk.

While Salman's legal tussles continue, his brother Sohail too landed himself in a soup. According to a report in Mid-day, the actor-producer found himself in the middle of a legal battle as his manager had delayed the payment of his staff's salaries. Apparently, one of the five disgruntled employees sought redressal by moving the Labour court. A source had been quoted in the report as saying that the five employees are awaiting their dues of nearly Rs 1 lakh from Sohail's office for over four months. Apparently, tired with the wait, one of the five employees decided to file a petition with the labour court. He also sent two notices to the actor's manager which haven't been responded to. The actor however rubbished the allegations.

The first poster of Aamir Khan's film, PK, might have garnered him the necessary attention, but it also landed him in trouble, jeopardizing chances of the film's release. The plaintiff Hemant Patil claimed that the film's poster, that featured a naked Aamir Khan posing with a transistor covering his modesty, is obscene and vulgar. According to a PTI report, a civil court in Mumbai said that it would frame issues in a suit filed against Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, seeking a ban on the release of his upcoming film PK on the ground of obscenity. The court had said it would frame issues on December 17, 2014, as to whether it has the jurisdiction to entertain this suit. It asked the plaintiff's lawyer, advocate R N Kachave, to argue on whether a case of obscenity or vulgarity was made out.

Rajnikanth and the director, producer and scriptwriter of the film Lingaa had been served a notice on an appeal seeking to set aside the order of a single judge dismissing the case of plagiarism filed against him and others. According to a report in DNA, Justices V Dhanapalan and V M Velumani gave an order to this effect and posted the case for hearing on December 10. The bench apparently issued a notice to the officials, including Director General of Police, IG (South zone), Madurai city Police Commissioner, Union Secretary, Information and Broadcasting Ministry and Tamil Nadu Secretary of Information and Cinema. Reportedly, Ravi Rathinam had registered a complaint with the police listing the offences committed by the four respondents. However, no FIR was registered though it was a cognizable offence. He further rued the fact even after he lodged a police complaint, the makers of the film released the trailer of the film, legitimising their illegal act.

Shreyas Talpade was summoned to the court for an alleged dispute relating to payment and credits for Shreyas' production, Poshter Boyz. According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, Shreyas Talpade was seen attending the 33rd Magistrate Court at Ballard Pier, along with wife Deepti. The dispute is between Jash Shah of Kaichi Productions and the Talpades, who are both directors of their company, Affluence Movies. Shah in his complaint, stated that Talpade had availed of his company's VFX services for Poshter Boyz but later defaulted on the payment and didn't give them credit. Talpade, however, denied this vehemently and said that Shah is using arm twisting techniques to defame him, "The name of the company was excluded from the film's credits because they did a shoddy job. As producer, it's my prerogative to decide whose name goes in the credits," he told Mumbai Mirror. The complaint recorded, stated that initially the amount agreed between the parties was Rs 7 lakh, which was later brought down to Rs 5.5 lakh. "After the release of the movie on August 1, 2014, the directors of the company failed to pay the rest of the consideration amount and also failed to clear the service tax amount in the invoice," the complaint stated. Talpade countered this by saying, "Firstly, the cheque bounced not because of insufficiency of funds, but because of a technical glitch in the date line. As soon as they alerted me about this, I issued another cheque which was promptly cleared." But Shah alleged that a payment of Rs 50000 bounced, saying that it left him with no option but to file a case against Talpade.

After being sentenced to 26 years of imprisonment by a Pakistani court for alleged profanity, Veena Malik had spoken up in the media, presenting her side of the story. According to a report in DNA, the actress and her businessman husband Asad Bashir Khan, then filed an appeal against the harsh sentence. Following the media coverage of the case, Amnesty International also took a keen interest in the proceedings and was keen to help Veena in her fight against the radical judgement. In her quote in the report, Veena said that being a woman, she will stand up for herself and also for her family as she is now a mother of a two-month old baby. She asserted that no force can separate her from her child.

Chetan Bhagat's latest book Half Girlfriend seemed to be running into a lot of controversies. According to a report on Firstpost.com, Chetan Bhagat and the book's publisher Rupa Publications, had been served a legal notice by the Dumraon Royal family, demanding an unconditional apology for references to their family in the book. They also demanded a recall of all copies of the book that were yet to be circulated. Besides this, Chetan Bhagat was also accused of plagiarism by Bihar-based writer Birbal Jha. The writer had claimed that the author has copied the plot of his book titled Englishia Boli. A film based on the book was already announced even before the book's release. Co-produced by Chetan Bhagat, the film is being directed by Mohit Suri.

Bhushan Kumar got embroiled in legal trouble as Anees Bazmee slapped a case of non-payment of dues against him. The arbitration order may have gone in favour of Anees Bazmee (Mirror, November 11) but Ready producer Bhushan Kumar was not ready to pay up. According to a Mumbai Mirror report, he had moved to High Court against the director. His lawyer, Hiren Mehta told Mirror, “Bazmee was to be paid Rs 8.61 crore but the project did not take off on time and on March 30, 2010, two agreements were signed whereby his remuneration was scaled down to Rs 5.50 crore, with profits to be shared by the two. Now, Bazmee wants Rs 11 crore, inclusive of profits. This would leave Bhushan with only Rs 9 crore. The gross collection of the film was Rs 120 crore. Why would Bhushan invest Rs 55 crore in a film which would fetch him less than that of the director?"

Talking to Mirror (September 11, 2014), Bhushan had explained, "The film has earned Rs 120 crore.The deal was that we would pay Bazmee 30 percent of the profit after we recover all our money. We had to re-shoot two songs, which cost us an extra Rs 2 crore. Added to that, we spent Rs 20 crore in publicity." The report further quoted Anees as diplomatically saying, "Bhushan and I are cordial to each other. Whatever I have asked from him is my rightful money."

According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, Ekta Kapoor had taken the actor to court over Rs 1.5 crore that she paid Sanjay for a film which she was to co-produce with Suniel Shetty. Apparently, Ekta and Sanjay had locked a mega deal in 2008, which was supposed to flag off with a film starring Sanjay. But soon, Ekta and Sanjay fell out and called off the deal, the report further stated. At Suniel’s insistence, Ekta had paid Sanjay Rs 1.5 crore as signing amount for the first film.

However, according to a report on Indianexpress.com, Ekta Kapoor and Maanayata Dutt issued a joint statement in denial of the reports that Ekta filed a lawsuit against Sanjay Dutt. “There is no ongoing dispute of any kind between us. Shobha Ji, Ekta and Sanjay share a very good personal and professional relationship. Sanjay has known Ekta and her family personally for a very long time, and the relationship between the two families goes back a long way. Ekta Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt are in fact planning to work together for an upcoming project of Ekta’s, after Sanjay’s release.”

Aamir Khan entered this list as he received a court notice because of his TV show Satyamev Jayate. As stated in a report on Oneindianews.com, advocate Mandeep Kaur accused him of promoting homosexuality on Satyamev Jayate. A notice had been issued by a court in Chandigarh seeking the actor's response by December 19, the report further stated. The report also quoted Kaur saying that she had sent a legal notice to the actor on October 19 itself seeking an unconditional apology from him with 24 hours after the telecast of the show, but she received no response from him.

As per a report in Mumbai Mirror, Rishi Kapoor was admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Bandra and was being treated for dengue and malaria. An inspection conducted at his Pali Hill bungalow revealed that there was a dengue mosquito-breeding spot at his residence, and it was reported that he will have to explain such a 'negligence'. Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, BMC health director, Dr Suhasini Nagda, said, “We will issue notice to Rishi Kapoor, asking why criminal action should not be initiated against him."

A day after the report about Sana Khan's alleged boyfriend Ismail Khan assaulting Sahil Khan surfaced, the couple was arrested in another case, but later released on bail. According to a Mumbai Mirror report, Sana and Ismail were arrested by the Amboli police for assaulting Poonam Khanna, a real estate agent who refused to pay their money back. The report further stated that the duo asked her for their money but she refused to pay up. The three got into a heated argument. Sana and Ismail allegedly pushed and thrashed the victim, and threatened her saying that they had good underworld connections and would get her killed. Whereas a PTI report stated that Sana and her alleged boyfriend Ismail Khan twisted the hands of the victim and touched her inappropriately.

The report also stated that the duo was arrested after Poonam filed a complaint with Amboli police station charging them of molestation and criminal intimidation. On the same day of arrest, they were produced before the court and released on bail.

According to Times Now, Amitabh Bachchan had been summoned for allegedly instigating the masses with his slogan, 'blood for blood'. This controversial incident apparently took place after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. According to a report on Ibtimes.co.in, Gurupatwant Pannun, member of US-based human rights group Sikhs For Justice, had accused Bachchan of instigating violence through his slogan on October 31, 1984, against the community.

Saif Ali Khan too faced issues when he had an argument with a guest at a restaurant in Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai. He was charged under sections 325 (assault) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code in the Colaba hotel assault case. The NRI businessman had also accused Saif and his friends of hitting his father-in-law, Raman Patel. However, Saif had maintained that Sharma made provocative statements and used abusive language against the women accompanying him and this led to the ruckus. The actor, along with Salman, had also been making the rounds of the court for his involvement in the black buck poaching case in Rajasthan.

Sooraj Pancholi grabbed eyeballs when his ex-flame and the late actress Jiah Khan was found dead in her house. According to PTI, he was arrested on the basis of a letter, purportedly written by Jiah, which was found by her mother Rabiyah Khan and her sister, from Jiah's bedroom, a few days after she hung herself from the ceiling fan on June 3, 2013. In the letter, Jiah mentioned how she was mentally harassed by Sooraj and how she had undergone an abortion. Sooraj had said in his bail plea that he and Jiah were in a consensual relationship and the letter was being misused by Rabiyah.

Sanjay Dutt, who played a cop in films like Policegiri, Dus, Shootout At Lokhandwala and Dhamaal went through many court proceedings in his real life. He is currently serving a 42-month sentence for his role in the March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. According to reports, post his jail term, Sanjay will be a part of a talk show that will throw light on crime-related issues. Though the actor will only be able to participate in the talk show when he is released, his wife Maanayata is doing all the planning for the show.

John Abraham impressed the audience with his power-packed performance in Nishikanth Kamath's Force. However, when it comes to real life, the actor too has witnessed legal issues as his bike met with an accident and injured two people. He was allegedly charged for rash driving on a public way. However, the actor was out on bail and he had also helped the victims and reportedly taken them to hospital despite his own injuries.