National

Film fraternity rallies behind Sanjay

MUMBAI: Film personalities rallied behind actor Sanjay Dutt on Tuesday after he was given a six-year jail term in the 1993 serial blasts case, saying he had got punishment in excess of the “error” he had committed.

Members of the film fraternity said the actor had already been in prison for about 16 months, which should suffice.

Actor and BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha said he felt sad for Dutt and his family. “I feel Sanjay became a victim of a conspiracy of circumstances,” Mr. Sinha said in Shimla.

Director Madhur Bhandarkar argued that Dutt had already spent 16 months in prison following his arrest in 1993.

Describing the sentence as “upsetting,” director Kunal Kohli said, “My full sympathy is with him and his family. I can’t even imagine what his family is going through. It is a very sad day and I think he has already suffered a lot... He has already paid for whatever has happened.”

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt said, “It’s an ongoing nightmare. There seems to be no relief. It is certainly a dark day for people who know Sanju. It is like a replay of events.”

“I think whatever punishment has been meted out to him, it far exceeds the error committed by him... People have forgotten the circumstances under which the error was committed,” said actress of yesteryear Saira Banu.

Actor-turned-MP Govinda said the sentence was harsh. “The people in the film industry are very sad and I pray to the Almighty to give him the strength to bear all this,” he said.

Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha hoped there would be provisions in the law which could help Dutt get some relief. “What I can only hope is that there are more provisions within this judgment to find some relief for our friend Sanju and I hope there is a humanitarian area within the law which allows some leniency for him,” he said.

Bollywood starlet Monica Bedi, recently released from jail after being acquitted in a passport forgery case, sympathised with Dutt.

Ms. Bedi, who is spending her time at her ancestral village Chhabewal in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, said Dutt’s punishment would be a “big loss” for Bollywood.

“I’m confident Dutt will get justice from the Supreme Court”, she added. — PTI

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