Actor Govinda, who was urged by the apex court to apologise to a fan he slapped in 2008, says he will respect the decision of the court.
“Till the time I receive the letter from the court, I cannot make a comment on it. The decision of the court is paramount for me and I will respect its decision,” he said at a press conference in Mumbai.
Asked if he thought the fan was being funded to keep the case going, he replied: “This is something worth thinking about. From where is the funding coming?”
“Such a person never stretches such a matter for so many years, especially since he is not someone who is a resident of this place. It’s surprising that it’s been 10 years and these things are happening now.
“A person who indulges in illegal activities, how can he be helped in such a big way? This is surprising. Tell me how can it happen without [funding]?” he asked.
Govinda was caught on camera slapping Santosh Bateshwar Ray on the set of his film Money Hai Toh Honey Hai in 2008.
“It doesn’t look normal for it to go on for so many years. No fan could ever have a behaviour like this and that’s definite. Fans tremendously love artists... they go out of the way and take police beating... to protect artists from problems.
“I want to say that there was never any intention to hurt anyone. A person who I don’t even know and never met, I can’t have any such intentions for such a person,” Govinda added.
On Monday, the apex court, reminding Govinda that he was big Bollywood star, asked him to settle the dispute by apologising to him.
Pointing out that what may hold good in “reel life” may not hold good in “real life”, a bench of Chief Justice designate Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice V. Gopala Gowda counselled Govinda that as he was “a big hero, show your big heart”.
