Who is Payal Ghosh, the actress who accused Anurag Kashyap of sexual misconduct?

Actress Payal Ghosh took to Twitter on Saturday (September 20) to accuse filmmaker Anurag Kashyap of sexual misconduct. She said that the Dev D helmer had 'forced himself on her extremely badly' and added that she would expose the 'demon' in public.

Read | Actor alleges Anurag Kashyap sexually harassed her, director slams claims

Payal, who was born in Kolkata, began her acting career with a supporting role in the English TV film Sharpe's Peril, co-starring Game of Thrones actor Sean Bean. In 2009, she made her Tollywood debut with the Manoj Manchu-starrer, Prayanam, beginning a new chapter in life. She acted alongside Jr NTR in the 2011 release Oosaravelli, directed by Surender Reddy. The action-drama opened to a good response at the box office, impressing the target audience. She also appeared in the Kannada movie Varshadhare.

Payal made her Bollywood debut in 2017 with the Rishi Kapoor-starrer Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi. The film had an impressive cast that included Vir Das and actor-turned-politician Paresh Rawal. She recently penned an emotional note about the movie, saying that she could have asked for a better launch vehicle.

"Today, it completes the 3 year for my bollywood Debut, Patel ki Punjabi Shaadi. From being launched by the late Rishi Kapoor sir the working with Paresh Rawal sir. I couldn't have asked 4 more. I have a long way to go but this is a good place to see how far I have come.#3yearsofPKPS," (sic) she had tweeted.

Payal is a big admirer of Jr NTR and came to his defense when a section of the Twitterverse was trolling him for being a 'product of nepotism'. She tweeted that those ridiculing the 'Young Tiger' had no idea about the hardships he faced during the initial stages of his career. Payal had also pointed out that the Janatha Garage actor has tremendous respect for women.

Coming back to the present, Anurag has denied the allegations and termed them as 'baseless'. The issue has, however, caught the attention of the National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma, who has asked Payal to send a 'detailed complaint' to her at the earliest.