Sushant Singh Rajput accused of harassing Kizie Aur Manny co-star on set, denies allegations

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput is the latest to face a charge of sexual haraassment in the growing list of names from the film industry. A recent report accused the actor of sexually harassing his Kizie Aur Manny co-star Sanjana Sanghi on the sets of Mukesh Chhabra's directorial debut. 

The actor, however, has denied the allegations as a 'well timed smear campaign'. 

A report on entertainment news website Bollywoodbubble.com quoted sources as saying, "Sushant made his female co-star very uncomfortable on the sets. He would often invade her personal space and would pass flirtatious comments. His overtly friendly nature had the actress report the matter to Mukesh Sir, who brushed it away as usual behaviour seen in the industry." 

Sanghi has not responded to the allegations herself, or denied it yet. The actress is making her debut in Chhabra's remake of the Hollywood hit, The Fault In Our Stars. 

Rajput, denying the allegations, put out screenshots of his text interactions with Sanghi while on set. In the messages, Rajput and Sanghi can be seen discussing 'non conducive conditions' on set. 

The actor is seen writing 'Hey just wanted to tell you that despite of everything that’s so not conducive for actors on set, what you’re doing is nothing short of f***ing epic. Good going girl,' to which Sanghi responded, "A whole lot of non conducive conditions, yes. Thank you so much Immanuel." 

The message does not clarify or imply what the 'non conducive conditions' were.

Rajput's claims were supported by director Chhabra, who wrote that 'no such incident happened on set'. 

Incidentally, Chhabra is currently suspended 'pending investigations' by Fox Star Studios. The production house has initiated an internal inquiry through the ICC (Internal Complaints Comittee) on the sexual harassment allegations against Chhabra by two women. 

The casting director has denied the allegations against him. 

The director is the latest name to step down from a project pending investigations following Vikas Bahl, Sajid Khan, Nana Patekar and Subhash Kapoor among others.