Rs 90 crore riding on Sanjay Dutt

It’s a massive blow for Bollywood producers. Sanjay Dutt has been sentenced to five years in jail by the Supreme Court, and inevitably, questions are being asked about the fate of his upcoming big-budget films.

It’s a massive blow for Bollywood producers. Sanjay Dutt has been sentenced to five years in jail by the Supreme Court, and inevitably, questions are being asked about the fate of his upcoming big-budget films. The list includes the Zanjeer remake, Policegiri, Rajkumar Hirani’s P.K. and Soham Shah’s Sher. The actor was also slated to reprise his role in the third Munna Bhai film, whose future remains unclear now.

Sanjay-Dutt

According to trade experts, at least Rs 90 crore was riding on Dutt’s films (excluding P.K. as it’s an Aamir Khan film). “What can anyone do with incomplete films? Three-and-a half years is a long time. He will also be in his late 50s by then and it’s going to have a major effect on his career,” says trade expert Komal Nahta.

At the moment, news is that, barring Karan Johar’s production Ungli, Dutt’s other films are apparently yet to be “completed”. “Since he has an extended special part in Ungli, he finished shooting for it back in December last year,” says an insider close to the project.

However, it looks as though filmmakers are still standing by Dutt. “Right now, we aren’t even thinking about films. We are thinking about him. Now is the time when we have to stand by him. Otherwise we don’t even deserve to be called a fraternity,” says Rahul Aggarwal, producer of Policegiri, who also signed two more films with Dutt.