Vikas Bahl cleared of sexual harassment charges, returns as director of Super 30

An internal complaints committee of Reliance Entertainment, co-producer of the Hrithik Roshan-starrer Super 30 (2019), has given director Vikas Bahl a clean chit in the sexual harassment complaint against him.

The filmmaker has been cleared of all charges and will receive the director's credit for Super 30.

Last October, Bahl's complainant refused to lodge a police complaint against the director, saying she lacked faith in the police. The woman also did not appear before the internal complaints committee of Reliance Entertainment despite repeated reminders. As a result, the committee was left with no option but to clear the filmmaker of all charges.

Shibashish Sarkar, Reliance Entertainment's group CEO, told the daily tabloid Mumbai Mirror, "Yes, it is true that the internal complaints committee report has exonerated Vikas Bahl. With the committee clearing Vikas, we don’t have a choice but to reinstate his credit as director of Super 30.”

Phantom Films, which was founded in 2011 by Anurag Kashyap, Madhu Mantena, Vikramaditya Motwane and Vikas Bahl, was dissolved last October after the woman spoke out about what had happened with her in an investigative piece by Huffington Post.

Super 30 has been co-produced by Reliance Entertainment and Sajid Nadiadwala's Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment.

Afterwards, Bahl had filed a defamation suit of Rs10 crore against Kashyap and Motwane, accusing his former partners of maligning his image.

The star of Super 30, Hrithik Roshan, had said at the time in a statement on Twitter, "It is impossible for me to work with any person if he/she is guilty of such grave misconduct. I am away and have access to only sporadic information. I have requested the producers of Super 30 to take stock of the apparent facts and take a harsh stand if need be."

Super 30, which also stars Mrunal Thakur, is due to be released on 12 July.