When two of Mumbai’s most prominent tabloids have the same lead story, you know that the catfight between Hrithik Roshan and Kangana Ranaut is too good to be restricted to the entertainment section.
The legal notices that the stars have slapped on each other are guaranteed to keep entertainment pundits and gossip guzzlers busy for the next several days. It all began when Ranaut dismissed what appeared to be Roshan in an interview as “her silly ex”. Ranaut didn’t name Roshan, but appeared to be alluding to him as the factor responsible for her exit from the upcoming third entry in the Aashiqui movie franchise. At that time, Roshan had expressed his anger through a tweet.
On February 26, Roshan went one step further, accusing Ranaut of defamation (even though she had not named him). He demanded that she apologise for calling him her “silly ex” at a press conference, failing which he would turn their private correspondence public. This correspondence allegedly includes over a 1,000 emails sent by Ranaut to Roshan. The notice also bizarrely alleges that Kangana has Aspergers syndrome, which makes her imagine things (Aspergers syndrome doesn’t induce hallucinations, and already, mental health activists have strongly reacted to Roshan’s claims).
Ranaut has responded with a 21-page notice, which alleges that Roshan has hacked into her inbox and deleted their correspondence and is threatening and intimidating her. The case is a civil matter, and no First Information Report has been filed on either side.
Murmurs swirled of an affair between the two stars on the sets of Roshan’s home productions Kites and Krrish 3. Roshan was still married to Susanne Khan at the time. He is now divorced and is working on Ashutosh Gowariker’s period epic Mohenjo Daro. In the meantime, Ranaut has grown in stature, winning critical acclaim and commercial success for her work in Queen (2013) and Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015). By filing a counter-notice, Ranaut has proved that she is no pushover, and Roshan is going to learn this the hard way.
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