Vikram Bhatt defends ex Sushmita Sen’s relationship with Lalit Modi: ‘She is last person who checks bank balances’

Sushmita Sen has been giving it back to trolls on social media over the last few days. Ever since IPL founder and businessman Lalit Modi announced that Sushmita and him are dating, the two have been seeing mean comments and memes about them online. Many have even labelled Sushmita a ‘gold digger’ for dating Lalit. On Monday, Sushmita’s ex-boyfriend and filmmaker Vikram Bhatt came to her defence, arguing that she is the “the last person who checks out bank balances before she decides to fall in love”. Also read: After Lalit Modi’s response to trolls, Sushmita Sen reacts too

Vikram Bhatt and Sushmita reportedly dated sometime in the mid-1990s after she became Miss Universe in 1994 and entered the film industry. Vikram was the writer of the 1996 film Dastak, which marked Sushmita’s Bollywood debut. They broke up a few years later.

Speaking with India Today about Sushmita being called a gold digger, Vikram said, “Sushmita is a love digger, not a gold digger. I think making fun of other people’s life is entertainment. Someone’s tragedy is someone’s entertainment, that’s always there. When Kareena [Kapoor] married Saif [Ali Khan], even she was trolled. So, I think it goes with the territory, if you are a celebrity and if there is a decision of yours which seems funny to netizens, they start trolling.”

The filmmaker added that based on his experience, Sushmita did not look at things like a bank balance before entering into a relationship. He recalled, “Sushmita is the last person who checks out bank balances before she decides to fall in love with someone. I was penniless. I was directing Ghulam, but I had no money. I will not forget that Sushmita was the person who first took me to the US, and she paid for my trip. I had no money. When we reached Los Angeles and there was a limousine, and I was surprised. She said that she wanted to make my entry in the US very special.”

On Sunday, Sushmita herself reacted to the ‘gold digger’ tag first on Twitter as she shared news articles defending her and then in a long Instagram post. “The friends I never had & the acquaintances I’ve never met….all sharing their grand opinions & deep knowledge of my life & character…monetising the ‘Gold Digger’ all the way!!! Ah these geniuses!!! I dig deeper than Gold…and I’ve always (famously) preferred Diamonds!! And yes I still buy them myself,” part of her note read.

Last week, Lalit Modi had shared pictures with Sushmita from their recent vacation to Maldives and Italy, calling her his ‘better half’. He later clarified they weren’t married but were dating. Sushmita also denied the marriage rumours in an Instagram post a day later.