'Queen' director Vikas Bahl accused of sexual harassment; ousted from Phantom

Vikas Bahl who gave us the fantastic women-centric film ‘Queen’ is in the spotlight once again, but unfortunately for all the wrong reasons.

According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, a woman employee of Phantom Films — a company which is co-founded by Vikas Bahl along with Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, and Madhu Mantena — has leveled allegations of sexual harassment against the director, who apparently molested her during an office trip few months ago.

Although the director has denied all the claims, apparently, the company has taken a firm stand against him and asked him to step down from his position.

“We (Reliance Entertainment and Phantom Films) have taken a hard stand, based on what we have heard and investigated,” mentioned a stakeholder of the company on a condition of anonymity. The source further added, “There are not one, two or three but multiple victims. I was in the middle of a film shoot when I came to know about the first incident and I had to stop my shoot and come to Mumbai. There is a young girl on whom an intoxicated Vikas forced himself while they were in Goa. He has behaved badly in the past as well but when this specific complaint came, we needed to act on it.”

In his defense, Vikas who is currently tending to his ailing mother, said to a publication, “Nothing has happened. I am running the company. There is no complaint to HR and there is no Vishakha committee. I have heard about this particular lady you are speaking about and the Goa incident. She is not my employee.”

Bahl added, "Yes, I am friends with her, we have worked together and there is a production job we have done together but if she is feeling like this I would like to sit across a table from her and talk to her. I want to ask her if I have crossed a line, whether I have done anything to hurt her and if she feels that way I would like to apologize for it. I have known her for long. For two-and-a-half years she has never made me feel as if she is uncomfortable around me.”

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Queen