Bollywood actor-director Divya Khosla Kumar has publicly released a phone call recording with filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt, days after he claimed in an interview that she had stoked the ‘Saavi vs Jigra’ controversy for publicity. In a surprising twist, Mukesh takes a complete U-turn during the conversation and insists that he never made any comment attributed to him.

On Thursday, Divya posted the audio clip on Instagram, where she directly questions the producer whether he has accused her of creating controversy to gain attention. Mukesh rejected it outright and said, “Neither did anyone ask me, nor did I tell anyone. (Neither did anyone ask me, nor did I tell anyone). This has again been created by those who have vested interests.”

Divya said that the negative news hurt her especially because it came out on her birthday. Mukesh reassures him, saying, “Son, this is all planned. The fact that this happened on your birthday means someone wants to hurt you and has planned this deliberately. First of all, I didn’t know it was your birthday. And I don’t act like that; you know me by now, son.”

He further said that the reaction may have come from “the other camp”, urging Divya to stay focused and saying that she “planned for a good year ahead.”

In her Instagram post along with the recording, Divya wrote, “I am deeply shocked by this revelation. What I have recently learned is disturbing and heartbreaking. With a heavy heart, I feel it is important to bring this truth out to the public, especially for all the artistes and fans who have suffered under the hierarchy, lobbying and gatekeeping in our film industry.”

She further added, “Unfortunately, I have been left with no option but to make public the telephone conversation between Mr. Mukesh Bhatt and me so that people can hear for themselves how certain groups attempt to damage careers and push out genuine talent. This behavior is unacceptable and cannot be normalized. It is time we speak out. It is time we call out the industry mafia. I will raise my voice, and I will fight it.”

Divya’s move comes after her recent allegation that the makers of ‘Jigra’ have removed the plot of ‘Saavi’. In an earlier interview with Lehren Retro, Mukesh Bhatt had dismissed her claims, saying, “What Divya did for publicity, I don’t know about. To get some attention in the media, you can create some controversy. Everyone needs publicity, and for publicity, you need some controversy.”

He also defended Alia Bhatt and called her a down-to-earth and intelligent star who would never need copying ideas, adding, “He doesn’t need to do this petty thing (He doesn’t need to do something so mean).”

This conflict continues until 2024, when Divya was the first to accuse ‘Jigra’ of copying ‘Savi’s jailbreak. Aadhaar and later claimed that the film’s box-office numbers were inflated, even sharing a photo of an empty theater to suggest buying tickets in bulk.