Sanjay’s jail term puts Rs 150 crores at risk

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With almost Rs 130-150 crores riding on Sanjay Dutt and his upcoming films, the impact of the Supreme Court verdict to sentence the actor to five years imprisonment in connection with the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, will be felt on several of his films.

Dutt’s list of upcoming films includes Dharma Productions’ Ungli, Ashtavinayak’s Sher, Reliance Entertainment’s Zanjeer, Aamir Khan Productions’ P.K. and Policegiri. Even Vinod Chopra Films recently announced third instalment of the Munnabhai series. He will also be appearing in a cameo in Ghanchakkar. Speaking about the verdict affecting the business of the films, trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, “The films he is working on will be affected but then you also need to consider that he is not playing the lead roles in all of them. Like even in Zanjeer, it is only the supporting roles. We’ll have to find out the amount of work that he has completed in these films and then calculate the losses. I think Policegiri will be affected the most as he plays the lead in it.”
While Dutt has already finished shooting for Sher, Ungli and the cameo in Ghanchakkar, the third Munnabhai film will not be affected as it has only been announced. Policegiri, the film that is expected to be affected the most as he was playing the protagonist along with Prachi Desai, is a remake of the Telugu blockbuster Saamy. Approximately Rs 35 to 40 crores is riding on the actor. The film’s producer Rahul Aggarwal says, “Sanjay was nearing the end of his shoot for the film. The entire team is shocked and shattered. We are hoping for a change in the sentence as Sanjay still has a chance to file a review petition against the verdict.” The film’s schedule was about 20 days, of which Sanjay has completed four days of shooting.
Though Dutt has four weeks to surrender, his team is trying to work out a way to seek permission from the legal authorities so that he can wind up the leftover portions of his films. However, the decision will be taken in the coming days. A close friend of the actor says, “He will complete the films if the police allows him to. Even his passport and driving licence have already been confiscated. Whether or not he’ll complete the films is something that only time can tell.”
Another film that is touted as one of the most-awaited films of 2013 is the remake of Zanjeer where Dutt plays the role of Pran. The film, which has around `60 crores at stake, stars actor Ram Charan Teja in Amitabh Bachchan’s role. Dutt’s look has been carefully guarded and was expected to be revealed later. While the official spokesperson of Zanjeer informed that the actor has only two days of work pending, he refused to comment on the impact that the verdict could have on the promotions and city tours of the film.
Aamir Khan’s much-hyped P.K., that has `60 crores at stake, also stars Dutt in a supporting role. The official spokesperson of the film said, “Sanjay has shot a large chunk of the film and there’s very little work that he has to complete. We are hoping that he’ll finish the film before surrendering.”
Sher and Ungli are expected to be least affected as he has already finished shooting for them. While Karan Johar’s official spokesperson confirmed that Sanjay has finished shooting for his part of the film, Sher (for which Dutt had finished shooting last year itself) is lying in the cans.