Payal Ghosh

Payal Ghosh (born 1986) is an Indian politician and former actress, who worked in Telugu and Hindi films. In 2020, Ghosh filed a police complaint alleging sexual harassment against filmmaker Anurag Kashyap in connection with an alleged 2013 incident. Kashyap denied the allegations, describing them as baseless, alleging that the complaint was politically motivated in response to his criticism of the government. The matter received media attention, and related legal proceedings included a defamation suit filed by actor Richa Chadha, which was later settled following Ghosh's apology. In October 2020, she joined the Republican Party of India (Athawale) and was appointed vice president of its women's wing.

Early life and Education Payal Ghosh was born in 1986 in Kolkata, West Bengal, she went to the St. Paul's Mission School Kolkata, and later graduated in Political Science Honours from the Scottish Church College.

Career

Acting When she was 17 years old, she had accompanied her friend to an audition for Sharpe's Peril and landed a role in the BBC Telefilm. In the period drama based on English soldier Richard Sharpe, Payal had played a village girl, the daughter of a revolutionary freedom fighter from Bengal. Payal also starred in a Canadian film in which she played a school girl in love with her neighbour's servant. Since her parents disapproved of her decision to join films, during her college holidays, she ran away from her home in Calcutta and came to Mumbai. She joined Namit Kishore's acting academy, where she met Chandra Sekhar Yeleti who offered her the lead role in his Prayanam, opposite Manchu Manoj. She signed another Hindi comedy film, Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi opposite Vir Das, directed by Sanjay Chhel. which was released worldwide on 15 September 2017.

End of the acting career In April 2020, she stated that she was out of work, financially broke, and was leading a life she had never imagined.

Defamation suit On 23 September 2020, Ghosh accused Anurag Kashyap and filed a police complaint for sexually harassing her at Yari Road in Versova, Mumbai in 2013. Kashyap dismissed the allegations as baseless, calling it an attempt to silence him from criticising the government.

On 1 October 2020, Mumbai police called Kashyap for questioning about the case. He denied the allegations and provided documents as evidence to prove that he was filming in Sri Lanka at the time, when Ghosh alleged the incident in Mumbai had taken place.

In October actor Richa Chadha filed defamation suit in Bombay High Court against Ghosh seeking ₹1.1 Crore damages for attempting to unnecessarily drag Chadha's name into Ghosh's allegation against Kashyap. After Payal Ghosh gave an un-conditional apology to Richa Chadha for her defamatory remarks, Bombay HC recorded the settlement of the case.

Political career On 26 October 2020 she joined Ramdas Athawale's political party and on the same day, she was appointed the vice president of its women's wing.

Mental health In June 2025, Ghosh spoke about her struggles with depression and anxiety in an interview with IANS. She stated that she had been undergoing emotional challenges for several years and sought professional help to manage her condition.

Filmography Year Title Role Language Notes 2008 Sharpe's Peril Padme EnglishBritish film 2009 Prayanam Harika Telugu 2010 Varshadhaare Mythili Kannada 2011 Oosaravelli Chitra Telugu Mr. Rascal Soundariya 2017 Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi Pooja Hindi

Television