Madhur Bhandarkar gets court summons over rape claim

Madhur Bhandarkar could face a rape trial after receiving a summons over an allegation dating from 2004.

The director was accused of rape by actress Pretti Jaiin, but he claimed that she had made the allegation because he did not cast her in a film.

Bhandarkar said in a statement to The Times of India: "As the lower court has issued a process against me for a case which has been going on for seven years, I would like to say that after reading the judgment, we will challenge this order in higher courts to seek justice."

The Heroine director said that the actress has also filed legal charges against another filmmaker claiming that he is the father of her child.

Bhandarkar also alleged that Jaiin has previously tried to "plot" against him, saying: "I would like to mention that Pretti Jaiin was arrested for hatching a plot to eliminate me in 2005, with the help of the underworld.

"She was arrest by Agripada police station and was behind bars for almost a month. I have full faith and respect for the judiciary and I am confident of proving myself innocent."

In August, Bhandarkar said that his realistic style of filmmaking causes controversy.

He is currently working on Heroine after replacing Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with Kareena Kapoor in the lead role.

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Fashion to premiere in New York

"Fashion", Madhur Bhandarkar's film set in the glamorous but ruthless world of haute couture, is slated for its world premiere on October 24 during the week-long 5th South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) in New York.

Nandita Das' "Firaaq", also from India, is the opening night feature of the festival and Das starrer "Ramchand Pakistani" directed by Mehreen Jabbar is the closing film. The festival runs from October 22-28.

SAIFF 2008 will present a select combination of full-length films, shorts and documentaries in a variety of genres. With several screening locations in Manhattan and high-profile sponsors like HBO, the New York Times and Time Warner Cable, the festival is dedicated to supporting established and emerging filmmakers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, as well as the South Asian diaspora.

"Fashion", starring Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut and Raj Babbar explores the world of style through the emotional journeys of the key people that make up the industry -models, designers, photographers, agencies and businessmen.

"Firaaq", which premiered last month at the Toronto International Film Festival, takes place over a 24-hour period one month after the 2002 communal violence in Gujarat. It features a star studded ensemble portraying the emotional journeys of "ordinary people" - some victims, some perpetrators and some who watched silently.

"Ramchand Pakistani" is a true story from 2002 concerning the accidental crossing of the Pakistan-Indian border during a period of extreme, war-like tension between the two countries by two members of a Pakistani Hindu family belonging to the Dalit caste. Nandita Das is the only non-Pakistani in the film's cast.
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