Marathi actor mulls legal action against Aaj Tak, News Nation for linking him to Raj Kundra case

Marathi actor Umesh Kamat is mulling legal action against TV channels Aaj Tak, News Nation and Crime Tak for linking him to the “porn racket” allegedly involving businessman Raj Kundra.

Kundra was arrested in Mumbai early this week and sent in police custody until July 23 for allegedly producing and circulating pornographic content via social media.

According to news reports, the Mumbai police have obtained purported WhatsApp chats where Kundra and one Umesh Kamat discuss a “plan B” after learning that they might have to take down some “objectionable” content from the Hotshots app. Kundra tells Kamat that revenue from their porn movies was falling by Rs 15,000-20,000 per day and instructs him to circulate “old content fast” to recover Rs 50 lakh, the purported chats show.

This Kamat is Kundra’s assistant and not the Marathi actor as Aaj Tak, News Nation and Crime Tak have wrongly reported. Calling it “reckless” and an “outrageous experience of irresponsible journalism”, the actor said the “Umesh Kamat alleged to be involved in the Raj Kundra case is not me. Maybe the media doesn't realize this but this single irresponsible incident has led to mental agony and irreparable damage to my image.”

Speaking to Newslandry, he said it was “terribly shocking“ to see his name linked to the case. “Yesterday when I was shooting for a Marathi show, my director informed me about it,” he said. “I am an artist. I have been in this industry for the past 20 years. You can't defame me like that. My name is similar to the accused in the case. That does not mean that you will just google my name and whatever picture pops up first you use that in your report. I don't know how they practice journalism on their TV channels.”

After Aaj Tak, Crime Tak and News Nations “irresponsibly used” his photos, Kamat complained, he and his family were flooded with calls asking about the case. “I will have to face its repercussions. I am getting calls from US, Dubai, informing me that I have been wrongly misrepresented. This is all very painful to deal with,” he said.

These news channels must rectify the mistake and offer an apology, he demanded, adding that he would pursue necessary legal action against them.