Kangana Ranaut's lawyer Rizwan Siddique on Wednesday said common friends of the actress and Hrithik Roshan have intervened in the tussle between the two stars and the two sides are looking to resolve the matter amicably.
The statement comes after several weeks of mudslinging and media leaks from both sides after Roshan sent Ranaut a four-page defamation notice.
The issue dates back to January when Ranaut, in an interview, had said "exes do silly things to get your attention," in reply to a question about whether she was dropped from the cast of Aashiqui 3.
Roshan tweeted that the chances of him dating the pope were higher than some of the actresses who speak disparagingly about him in the media.
After a brief lull, Roshan sent a four-page legal notice to Ranaut, to which she responded with a 24-page missive of her own. Since then, the two have been hurling allegations and counter-allegations in various papers and websites.
He also filed a complaint with the cyber crime cell of Mumbai police, claiming someone was impersonating him. Roshan's lawyers used this complaint to claim that Ranaut was sending intimate emails and personal photos to the alleged imposter and that their client did not have any relationship with Ranaut.
Last week, some emails purportedly sent by Ranaut to Roshan found their way to media houses. Most recently, a photo showing Roshan with his arms around Ranaut surfaced, with sources close to the actress claiming it was taken at Arjun Rampal's birthday party.
Ranaut's close aides said the photo ran contrary to Roshan's claims that he did not know Ranaut even socially. On Tuesday, sources close to Roshan released more photos from the same party, claiming that the earlier photo was doctored. On Wednesday, Roshan's ex-wife Sussanne tweeted her support to him, claiming the photo was doctored.
It is in this context that Ranaut's lawyer Siddique has said that common friends are working on a truce and in honour of their efforts he or his client will refrain from issuing further statements to the media.
"We would like everyone to know that some common people have started intervening and want the matter to be resolved amicably," said Siddique. "Therefore, to end the matter on a positive note we shall not be giving any further statement to the media on the said matter, as the same has also been assured from their side."
He, however, sought to have the last word about the most recent development."First and foremost, I need to know who is representing Roshan as an advocate on record, as the advocate seems to have been changed," he said. "The new advocate should come forward and give a proper statement in his name, so that we do not see legal statements being issued on public domain by anonymous persons."
He also questioned the claim that the photo was doctored.
"What do they mean by stating that the image is photoshopped or doctored?" he asked.
"Do they mean it is not Kangana in the image or is it not Hrithik or is it their claim that the expressions or the body language of either Kangana and Hrithik have been altered? They need to be specific because the photograph was meant to prove a point that Hrithik had blatantly lied not knowing my client Kangana socially at all.
That point has been sufficiently proved in all respects and therefore we need to move on and stop arguing uselessly."
