It has been a time of extreme stress for the Indian entertainment industry. While one of Sanjay Dutt's unreleased films 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 Dutt showed for about a week before abandoning , stands in severe jeopardy.
As for Raj Kumar Hirani whose Munnabhai brand cannot stand on its own without Dutt's presence, he seems to have gone into a shell. The third part of the ongoing Munnabhai series entitled 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."
However a message sent from Raj Kumar Hirani's cellphone by his assistant says, "Mr Hirani wouldn't like to speak on Sanjay Dutt's verdict or other issues. Hope you'll understand."
Silence may be golden. But not too many of Hirani's colleagues in the industry are adopting that method of diplomatic reticence which is so characteristic of the wary industry. There's vocal outrage in the industry. 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 relieve Dutt's legal pressure. Producers who have incomplete films on hand say they are ready to wait for as long as it takes for Dutt to come out of jail. Read More
