Madhur Bhandarkar granted relief in Preeti Jain rape case

Kareena in Madhur's 'Heroine'

Madhur Bhandarkar can now heave a huge sigh of relief, as the Supreme Court (SC) has stayed the criminal proceeding against the filmmaker, in Preeti Jain rape case.

In July 2004, Preeti Jain, an aspiring actress, had lodged a complaint against Madhur alleging that he had raped her several times between 1999 – 2004, on the pretext of marrying her and casting her in his films.

In her statement, Preeti had then said, "We had sex 16 times and Madhur made promises of giving me a lead role in his films. However, he didn`t offer me a lead role in any of his movies. At times when I refused, he raped me."

A lower court found substance in Jain's complaint and asked Madhur to face trial in the case. Bhandarkar then moved the apex court challenging the court's orders. In 2011, the police too supported the director, by filing a report that the case against him was false.

And today, SC granted him relief in the case. Reacting to the verdict, the 43-year-old filmmaker said that eight years of his life has been ruined due to the case.

Madhur Bhandarkar, is presently busy with his opus Heroine which stars Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Randeep Hooda in the lead roles.