Anurag Kashyap on Vikas Bahl sexual harassment row: We decided to take a strong moral stand against him

Anurag Kashyap has released a statement following a former employee’s accusation  that Queen director, Vikas Bahl, sexually harassed her in 2015. Kashyap, Bahl, Vikramaditya Motwane and Madhu Mantena had jointly founded Phantom Films in 2011, where the woman worked. However, the production house was dissolved on 6 October after  HuffPost  India reported the woman’s detailed account of the alleged incident. The survivor also stated that despite knowing the truth for almost two years, the Phantom founders did not do anything about it.

Kashyap, in his two-page long statement, wrote that the article in question does not include several specific details regarding the aftermath of the incident. He claims to have taken a stand against Bahl’s actions, revealing that he named and shamed him privately, even going on record anonymously to a leading daily in 2017.

The filmmaker also added that the woman chose not to go public with her story and file a complaint. He said he was bound by the studio’s contract which did not allow him to remove Bahl from his position over the alleged misconduct.

My statement in light of the recent HuffPost article and breaking up of Phantom . There are two pages.. pic.twitter.com/WCAsaj6uFR

— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) October 7, 2018

Varun Grover, who has also frequently worked with Phantom Films, in the past tweeted his stand on the ongoing controversy. He apologised and pressed on the need for ethical workplace guidelines to be followed.