Mumbai, Jan 16 (IANS): TV actor Kiran Mane, who plays the character of Vilas Patil in Star Pravah's show 'Mulgi Zali Ho', was recently asked to leave the show.

The actor later alleged that he was removed from the show due to his anti-establishment stance. However, Star Pravah, which is the Marathi portfolio of Disney Star India has clarified that his ousting from the show was triggered because of his unruly behaviour with his co-actors and crew on the show and his offensive behaviour towards female members of the cast.

The channel said in a statement, "We have been given to understand that the allegations leveled by actor Mr Kiran Mane, who portrays the character of Vilas Patil on the show, 'Mulgi Zhali Ho', are baseless and contrived. It is unfortunate that such allegations have been made."

"The production house has confirmed that the decision to dismiss Mr Mane from the show was on account of his misconduct with several co-artists on the show, in particular, the female protagonist of the show. Several complaints were made by his co-actors, director, and other unit members of the show against his continuous disrespectful and offensive behaviour towards them," the statement further reads.

Continuing further, the channel said, "Despite numerous warnings given to Mr Mane he continued to behave in the same manner violating the basic decency and decorum on the sets of the show. Given our zero-tolerance policy for any kind of disrespectful behaviour towards women, we support the decision to dismiss him from the show."

Further, they stated that they respect individual opinions and views and defined the right to free speech, "As members of the content industry, we respect all views and opinions and consider ourselves defenders of free speech. However, we are equally committed to ensuring a safe and healthy environment for our artistes, in particular, women."