Just a week before the release of the detective drama series Mistry, actor Ram Kapoor has been removed from all promotional activities associated with the show following serious allegations of inappropriate conduct at a media event.
According to a report by Mid-Day, Kapoor allegedly made a series of sexually inappropriate remarks during a press event at JW Marriott, Juhu, on June 19, in the presence of co-star Mona Singh and senior JioHotstar executives.
One remark that drew immediate backlash involved Kapoor allegedly joking about media pressure by saying he felt “gang-raped” comment reportedly made in front of a female journalist.
A JioHotstar insider told the publication, “The tone and content of his ‘jokes’ were unprofessional. He had back-to-back interviews that day. Referring to the work pressure at one point, he said he feels ‘gang-raped’. This remark was made while one journalist was setting up her mic.”
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Among the other alleged comments were offensive remarks about the attire of PR and JioHotstar staff “He looked at my colleague’s dress and referring to its length, said, ‘The clothes are distracting.’”
Another staffer told Mid Day, he crass jokes involving a colleague’s mother and sex positions, “It didn’t hit immediately, but when it did later that evening, we started recounting the number of offensive things he said. He told one of our male colleagues that his mother should have faked a headache and he shouldn’t have been born. He made references to sex positions.”
The platform’s HR and leadership teams were alerted on June 20. After verifying accounts from multiple eyewitnesses, the platform made the decision to drop Kapoor from all promotional activities. He has not yet issued a public statement addressing the controversy. Mona Singh will handle the show’s promotions solo.
Directed by Risab Seth, Mistry is the Hindi adaptation of the popular series Monk. It stars Ram Kapoor, Mona Singh, Shikha Talsania, Kshitish Date, and Dipak Dhar. Ram Kapoor plays Armaan Mistry, a germophobic former detective with obsessive-compulsive disorder, while Mona Singh is seen playing a pivotal role as Senior Police Officer Sehmat Siddiqui. The show premieres June 27 on JioHotstar.
