NEW DELHI: Amid allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by an ' anonymous' woman, filmmaker Luv Ranjan, the director of 'Pyaar Ka Punchnama' and 'Sonu Ki Titu Ki Sweety', has received support from actress Nusrat Bharucha, who worked with him in the two films.
In an open letter in support of the filmmaker, Bharucha, while expressing support of the 'MeToo' movement, said she can vouch for Ranjan's decent behaviour.
Asserting that the filmmaker never made her feel uncomfortable, she said he is "an opposite to the personality that is being painted recently".
Talking about her experience of meeting Ranjan for a look test for which there was to be a photo shoot of different looks they wanted to try - from simple Indian girl to the girl next door to glamorous to sexy for the three female characters in the film, Nusrat said, ''they also said the film will have a bikini shot and an intimate kissing scene, so only if I was ok with that should I come back for the look test. If I wasn't, then that was ok too, but maybe we could work together on something else in the future," she added.
"I told them I had done a kissing scene in my first film, 'LSD', and it was not uncomfortable, so I was fine doing that. But I was not ok wearing a bikini, so, if they could let me wear a stole or something over it, that would work, if not, I would like to let this project go. Finally, in the film, I wore a bikini top with a skirt, that is a fact. It's right there for everyone to see,'' the actress said.
Luv Ranjan was accused of sexual harassment on social media on Friday. The woman anonymously alleged that he had harassed her on the sets. Nusrat said that after 'Pyaar ka Panchnaama', she continued to work with the filmmaker as she felt "safe, protected, respected and cared for."
"They have, in fact, always given me the courage to take action against any such wrongdoings," she said.
In this regard, she cited instances where the filmmaker had been a shield for all women on the sets.
She cited in this regard instances like dropping a photo shoot where she and other two actors were supposed to be dressed in bikinis as they felt uncomfortable with the idea and firing a crew member for misbehaving with a woman on the film sets.
"Ayesha Raza Mishraji talked about an incident on the set of 'Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety', where a female crew member had been a victim of inappropriate behavior by a male actor.
Luv Sir took a stand and fired the actor from the film, recast and reshot those scenes," she said.
''I stand by Luv Sir,'' said Bharucha, who has worked with Ranjan in the "Pyaar Ka Punchnama" series, "Akaash Vani" and "Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety".