Film fraternity feels for Sanjay, cancels celebrations

Aug 4, 2007 Subhash K. Jha

Mumbai, Aug 4 (IANS) No one is in the mood for celebrations in Bollywood. Sanjay Dutt's jail term has upset everyone, even those not close to him, and celebrations and premieres have been cancelled.

Producers who have incomplete films on hand starring Sanjay say they are ready to wait for as long as it takes for him to come out of jail. Sanjay Dutt was sentenced to a six-year jail term in the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings.

Actor Anil Kapoor has never shared a very warm relationship with Sanjay. Nevertheless he cancelled the Mumbai premiere of his prestigious "Gandhi My Father".

Says Anil: "Suddenly my excitement about my film went down. I did hold a pre-release screening of 'Gandhi My Father' for close friends. But there was no proper premiere."

Ravi Chopra had planned a lavish premiere for the colorized revival of his father's classic "Naya Daur" along with the release of a book celebrating 58 years of the banner B.R. Films. But he cancelled it.

Says Ravi: "It's unfortunate that we had to cancel our 'Naya Daur' premiere. It was going to be attended by the film's lead pair Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala. But Sanjay Dutt's verdict cast a pall of gloom in the industry. The book 'The BR Story', which won't be for commercial sale but a memento for everyone associated with this banner, will now be released at a small function when the time seems right."

Anubhav Sinha, who cancelled the premier of his lavish "Cash", is heartbroken.

"I couldn't have made 'Dus' without Sanju's support. He got me all the big stars from Suniel Shetty and Abhishek Bachchan to Shilpa Shetty. Nobody would've worked with a small director like me if it wasn't for Sanju. When I heard the verdict I just lost my zest for the release of 'Cash'. So much suffering for Sanju... Not fair."

Sinha echoes the entire entertainment industry's sentiments.

Everyone seems to feel Sanjay Dutt has suffered enough. His close buddies like Suniel Shetty and Sanjay Gupta have for now abandoned work to chalk out a future plan of action to help him out. Sanjay had earlier served a 16-month stint in jail in the bombings case.

Of Sanjay Dutt's unreleased films, only Indra Kumar's comedy "Dhamaal" is dubbed and all set for release. The future of his other projects, including his friend Sanjay Gupta's "Alibaug", which Sanjay shot for about a week before abandoning, stands in severe jeopardy.

As for Raj Kumar Hirani, whose Munnabhai brand cannot stand on its own without Sanjay's presence, the director seems to have gone into a shell.

The third part of the ongoing Munnabhai series titled "Munnabhai Chale Amrika" now stands suspended, unless producer Vinod Chopra decides to make it with another actor in the lead.

Says a source: "That's quite unlikely because Vinod is extremely emotional about Sanju Dutt. They've worked together in 'Mission Kashmir'. And Sanju has gone on record to say he'd always work for Vinod without asking about his role."

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