#MeToo: Luv Ranjan denies sexual misconduct allegations, tweets apology

In the wake of #MeToo movement in India, filmmaker Luv Ranjan who is known for directing 'Pyaar Ka Punchnama' series was accused of sexual misconduct with an aspiring actress.

Allegedly that the director asked her to strip down to bra and panties in the presence of a lot of people during a look test.

Now, the director has released a statement on his Twitter handle and stated that he is not the person he is being portrayed, however, with this statement he would apologise to whoever he has caused hurt or not made feel comfortable enough.


The statement read, "This has probably been the longest day of my life. Since the time I have read the allegations, I have been wanting to react to them. I have been wanting to shout out loud that everyone has gone mad, I have been wanting to scream that I am not this man, I have been wanting to clear my name. Friends and Family have shown great support, support that has made me indebted to them for life.


I am very aware of the fact I am the man who made 'Pyaar ka Punchnama' and it becomes very easy for someone who doesn't know me personally to believe that I am guilty. Am I guilty? I have been wanting to scream out loud that I am not. I have never misbehaved with a woman, never touched a woman who isn't in love with me and I with her, I haven't sexted, flirted, molested or harassed a woman. I haven't.

After getting rid of my anger towards the whole thing I have come to realize a few things -

It doesn't matter that I believe I haven't done anything wrong, what matters is that someone has felt wronged.

I have made a lot of effort in life to make women around me feel safe and comfortable which women who have known me or worked with me will vouch for. I have never intended to hurt someone and taken utmost care to make sure that I don't and in my heart I know I haven't. But again what matters is that someone has felt hurt. Can I be so arrogant about myself to ignore that even if unintended, someone has got hurt. I can vouch for my intention but I can't decide how someone should feel.


It doesn't matter that I don't accept the narrative, what matters is that someone feels hurt enough to present this narrative.

I am not the man that I am being portrayed as. I am not. I never was, I never will be.

Yet I apologise to whoever I have caused hurt, whoever I have not made feel comfortable enough. I apologise for not being able to communicate my intent. I apologise for not being able to make someone feel that I am the man that I have aspired to be and I believe I am."


The #MeToo movement in India gained momentum after actress Tanushree Dutta accused veteran actor Nana Patekar of sexual harassment on the sets of the film 'Horn Ok Pleassss' in 2008. Soon after that many women came out in open to share their stories of sexual misconduct. Names like Sajid Khan, Vikas Bahl, Alok Nath, Anu Malik, Abhijeet Bhattacharya and more have cropped up in the course of the movement.