Nushrat Bharucha defends director Luv Ranjan amid harassment claims

Nushrat Bharucha Saturday came out in support of Luv Ranjan, who has been accused of sexual harassment, saying the director has never made her feel uncomfortable.

The actor said Ranjan is "an opposite to the personality that is being painted recently".

In an interview with a daily, an anonymous actor had said she was asked to strip down to her inner wear by Ranjan when she was called for an audition for "Pyaar Ka Punchnama", an allegation he has denied.

Bharucha, who has worked with Ranjan in the "Pyaar Ka Punchnama" series, "Akaash Vani" and "Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety", defended the director in a lengthy open letter on Twitter.

She recounted her experience of meeting Ranjan for a look test for which there will 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.

"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.

Bharucha said she discussed it with her family and "appreciated the honesty" on the part of the makers.

"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."