After five years of legal battles, actor-turned-MP Kangana Ranaut and lyricist Javed Akhtar have finally reached a mutually satisfactory settlement in their defamation lawsuits against each other. On Friday, February 28, the actor took shared the news of resolving her legal dispute with Javed.
Sharing a picture of the two, Ranaut said, “Today Javed ji and I have resolved our legal matter [defamation cases] through mediation. In the mediation, Javed ji has been very kind and gracious. He also agreed to write songs for my next directorial.”
According to a LiveLaw report, Kangana Ranaut had unconditionally apologised to Javed for her comments. She had said that her comments were "a result of misunderstandings" while unconditionally withdrawing them. Kangana had also further assured that she would not "repeat the same" in future. "I apologise for the inconvenience caused to Mr Javed Akhtar, who is one of the senior-most members of the film fraternity and I have high regards for him," she had stated before the court.
After a lengthy legal battle spanning 40 hearings, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP finally appeared in Bandra Court today in connection with the defamation case filed by Javed Akhtar. The case, initially heard at Andheri Metropolitan Court, was later transferred to Bandra Court.
It is reported that Kangana had been facing increasing pressure from the court to appear in person after she failed to attend any of the previous hearings. During the last hearing, the Bandra Court had issued her an ultimatum, warning that a non-bailable warrant would be issued against her if she did not appear. The court made it clear that this was her final chance to attend, and failure to do so would result in further legal action.
The legal conflict between Kangana and Javed began in 2020, following an interview the actor gave to a news channel after the tragic death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Javed Akhtar filed a complaint before the Metropolitan Magistrate in Mumbai alleging that Kangana dragged in his name while referring to a "coterie" existing in Bollywood following the death of actor Sushant. She had also claimed that Akhtar had threatened her to not speak about her alleged relationship with actor Hrithik Roshan, the complaint said. Kangana also filed a complaint against Javed alleging extortion and outraging modesty by invading her privacy. According to reports, in December 2024, both Kangana and Javed agreed to pursue mediation to resolve the issue.
(With inputs from IANS)