Bollywood #MeToo: FIR Against Casting Director Vicky Sidana

An actress has accused Casting Director Vicky Sidana of sexual misconduct and attempted rape.

Police filed an FIR against Casting Director Vicky Sidana for alleged sexual misconduct. 

(Picture Courtesy: Vicky Sidana/Facebook)

The Mumbai Police on Tuesday, 20 November, registered an FIR against Casting Director Vicky Sidana who has been accused of sexual misconduct by Actor Kritika Sharma.

Sidana has been booked under sections 354, 509 and 406 by the Versova Police, news agency ANI reported.

The FIR comes almost a month after Sharma had approached the police in Mumbai. The police had taken her statement, but had refused to register an FIR as the incident allegedly took place five years ago.

‘Sidana Assaulted Me’

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, the actress had alleged that Sidana had attempted to rape her, an allegation he has denied.

The actress, in an interview to Zoom TV, had alleged that Sidana had tried to rape her on the pretext of introducing her to Director Luv Ranjan. The aspiring actress also alleged that she had been abused by Sidana on several occasions.

In her complaint, Sharma said she had been shortlisted for a role in a film by Sidana. Sharma, who used to live in Delhi then, was asked to visit Mumbai for a day to meet Director Luv Ranjan's assistant Rahul Modi. Sharma accepted Sidana’s invitation to stay the night at his house in Mumbai as she didn't have enough money and she thought it would be safe because his wife lived with him. However, during the brief stay, he had tried to assault her on several occasions, and even apologised when she had threatened to leave, reported News18.

‘Allegations Are Baseless’

Sidana said on 18 October that the allegations against him are “completely baseless.”

Sidana Files Defamation Suit

Sidana has also filed a Rs 4 crore civil defamation suit against the actress, Mid-Day reported.

Sidana’s lawyer, Shreyansh Mithare, told Firstpost:

“The allegations against my client were completely baseless. We have filed a defamation case of Rs 4 crore. We will pursue this in court. My client is a well-known casting director in Bollywood and has done many big projects in the industry. These mischievous allegations have caused a lot of damage to his image and reputation in both his personal and professional life. We believe in the law and judicial system and have moved court to pursue the matter legally.” 

(With inputs from News18, Zoom TV and First Post)