No sooner had India’s Supreme Court upheld the verdict for Sanjay Dutt’s involvement in the 1993 Mumbai bombing case, than his fellow stars took to twitter to express their shock.
Dutt’s co-star in blockbuster Agneepath, Priyanka Chopra, dubbed him as the “nicest gentlest person” and tweeted: “My heart goes out to Sanju sir and his family..the nicest gentlest person..I pray for some respite for him through our judiciary..”.
Actress Bipasha Basu echoed her thoughts with: “Saddenned n shocked with the news about Sanjay Dutt’s Jail sentence.Strength to him n his family.” Dutt’s famous side-kick in comedy Munnabhai series Arshad Warsi called the verdict “too harsh” and tweeted: “I am numb, I don’t know what to say. Sanjay Dutt is not a criminal. This is too harsh a decision.”
Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt — who worked with Dutt in hits such as Naam — was the first one to tweet his horror with: “Heart Broken: Just heard that Sanjay Dutt has to go to jail for 5 years. I expected mercy! Alas it did not happen.”
Others followed suit. Producer Pritish Nandy tweeted: “Sad for Sanjay Dutt. He is paying for what was an act of folly. He is no traitor. He made a mistake. He is paying for it. Hugely”, while ace photographer Daboo Ratnani prayed to give his “elder brother” strength. “Shattered to Hear about @duttsanjay ...Love Him...He is Like My Elder Brother & has a Pure Heart of Gold. God give Him Strength #SanjayDutt.”
Director Kunal Kohli felt the real culprits for the blasts that killed 273 people and injured over 700 Mumbaikers were yet to be caught.
“the ‘93 blast case should NOT be made about Sanjay Dutt. The Real planners are sitting safely in Pakistan like Osama Bin Laden was,” he tweeted.
Aamir Khan, who was tipped to produce and star in Dutt’s next P.K, has maintained a silence on his social pages, up until now.
Raj Kumar Hirani, who was planning to make the third part of the hit Munnabhai series with Dutt, declined to comment when contacted by tabloid!.
Dutt, who began his career in 1981 with Rocky, has delivered several blockbusters including Sadak, Parineeta and Munnabhai series, and enjoys immense goodwill among his peers. His role as the altruistic do-gooder in Munnabhai series made “gandhigiri” (the film’s name for the philosophy of doing good things in a non-violent manner) and “Jadoo Ki Jappi” (the magical kiss that Munnabhai uses to set things right in the world) part of a movie-mad India’s lexicon.
