MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut and veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar have resolved their long-standing legal dispute through the process of mediation. Following the mediation settlement, both parties withdrew the respective court cases they had filed against each other. In the spirit of mediation, they ended the five-year-old bitter litigation in an amicable manner that has not only concluded the prolonged legal battle but also restored their association.  

The defamation case, which began in 2020, stemmed from Ranaut's statements in a television interview with *Republic TV’s* Arnab Goswami on July 19, 2020, where she mentioned Akhtar's name in connection with the controversy surrounding actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death.  

Akhtar had filed a defamation complaint against Ranaut in December 2020, alleging that she had damaged his "reputation" by making false statements about him. Subsequently, the cases went on in the courts. In his complaint, Akhtar stated that he is a self-made man who reached Mumbai when he was just 19 years old in 1964, with only Rs 27 in his pocket, two pairs of clothes, and a few books, and through his hard work, he made a name for himself in the industry.  

In response to this, Kangana had also filed a complaint against Javed, alleging extortion and outraging modesty by invading her privacy.  

During the mediation process, Ranaut offered an unconditional apology for any inconvenience caused to Akhtar and acknowledged that her statements were a result of misunderstandings.  

Ranaut, now a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament from Mandi, unconditionally withdrew her statements against Akhtar (as made in the interview) and undertook not to "repeat the same" in the future. She stated before the court, "I apologise for the inconvenience caused to Mr. Javed Akhtar, who is one of the senior-most members of the film fraternity, and I have high regard for him." Akhtar, in turn, agreed to withdraw his defamation complaint against Ranaut.  

After both parties reached a settlement through mediation, they made personal appearances before the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Bandra, where Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate A.K. Awari, while accepting the "settlement" between the parties, disposed of the defamation case pending before him.  

Ranaut took to her Instagram handle to share a happy picture with Javed. Along with the post, she wrote, “Today, Javed ji and I have resolved our legal matter (defamation case) through mediation. In the mediation, Javed ji has been very kind and gracious; he also agreed to write songs for my next directorial.”