If I knew about Sajid Khan I would've spoken up earlier: Farhan Akhtar

Farhan Akhtar says he feels a "certain guilt" about his cousin Sajid Khan's alleged sexual harassment allegations.

Speaking at the 'We The Women' event in Mumbai, the Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara actor said: "If I did know I would've spoken about it way before the story broke. There was this certain guilt about that. How could this be going on and I had no idea? So there were conflicted emotions."

Farhan explained what he meant by "conflicted emotions".

"It was surprise, disappointment and strangely, because when it's a member of your family, you also feel a certain level of guilt. It's happened to all of us in the past when we hear something like this and say 'but how come someone so close to him didn't know?'."

Also read: Sajid Khan accused of sexual harassment, Subhash Ghai accused of rape

But the 44-year-old stood his ground when news of Sajid broke and tweeted, "I don't know how but he will have to find a way to atone for his alleged actions."

And he reiterated the same feelings again. "Every time something like this has happened in the public domain, I've been very vocal with my opinion. When it came to someone within my family, I felt silence on that front would be very, very hypocritical."

Last month in October, three women alleged in separate accounts that director Sajid Khan had sexually harassed them. Consequently, Sajid, who was directing Housefull 4 at the time, stepped down from his post and tweeted, "I must take moral responsibility of stepping down from my directorial post."