A Bollywood actor who had accused filmmaker Anurag Kashyap of rape today unconditionally apologised to actor Richa Chadha who had filed a defamation suit against her over some comments made during a television interview.
The â¹ 1.1 crore suit, filed in the Bombay High Court on Tuesday, had come up for hearing today. During the proceedings, Justice AK Menon asked the actor's lawyer if she wished to withdraw her statements against Ms Chadha.
Following consultations with the actor, the lawyer later told the court she regrets her statement.
"She said it innocently. She is a big follower of the plaintiff (Chadha) and respects her. She is ready to withdraw the statement and tender apology," the lawyer, Nitin Satpute, said according to a PTI report. "She regrets whatever she said and her intention was never to defame any woman."
Chadha's lawyers Veerendra Tulzapurkar and Saveena Bedi Sachar then told the court that they are willing to accept the apology and would not claim damages.
During an interview to a Telugu channel a few weeks ago, the actor had named Ms Chadha in relation to her allegations against director Anurag Kashyap.
"You have given chance to Richa Chadha, Mahie Gill, Huma Qureshi... they are so nominal looking girls. Generally directors don't give them chance but you have done a great job. But I am not mentally prepared for this right now," the actor had claimed to have told Mr Kashyap during an alleged encounter.
She also claimed that Mr Kashyap had referred to Ms Chadha as someone who was "just a call away".
Ms Chadha's complaint says the comments have caused damage to her goodwill in the film industry and resulted in her humiliation.