Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Onir wins support against assault claims

Onir Anirban has denied sexual assault claims made against him by actor Yuvraaj Parashar.

Parashar, who was outed by gay rights activist Ashok Row Kavi in Mid Day earlier today, alleges that the filmmaker coerced him into a sexual encounter at his home in Mumbai.

Onir told Digital Spy: "I want to reinstate that I have not molested him, nor promised him anything and I will not seek cheap publicity that he wants out of this but I will fight with him legally."

The I Am director added: "This has been a nightmare. For me, the only thing that I want to add, is that my orientation is not my definition, nor am I ashamed of it. But I cannot let anyone use it against me and malign me and my integrity."

Onir, who has won acclaim for his socially relevant work in projects such as My Brother... Nikhil, Sorry Bhai and Bas Ek Pal, has gained widespread public support on social network platforms including Twitter and Facebook.

"I know that I have done nothing wrong and I am angry that someone misused my trust," said Onir of the allegations.