Ruling in the '93 bomb blast case? What will happen to Sanjay Dutt?

[tabula rasa]

--he agreed to do a favor for mobsters for a vaguer reason, for example his own idea of being "cool," and having goons for friends.

Darshana, astute insight, and the above is what I believe happened. I have some recollection of the Maximum City feature on this, too, though I can't remember specifics - but I do remember Dutt portrayed as a spoilt, brattish, reckless fool, who likes to play at being the 'hero' while not knowing the reality around him. As a bit of a boyish fool - the industry calls him 'baba', or something.

[tabula rasa]

This is perhaps the alternative behind the scenes scenario that I had been wondering about

http://thebigindianpicture.com/2013/03/the-sanjay-dutt-fandango/

[tabula rasa]

Sanjay Dutt is not going to seek pardon - gives statement:

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/sanjay-dutt-breaks-down-says-won-t-apply-for-pardon/269749

[odadune]

Sanjay Dutt is not going to seek pardon - gives statement:

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/sanjay-dutt-breaks-down-says-won-t-apply-for-pardon/269749

You know, good on him for that at least.  It may be that the people in charge have explained things to him in the same terms as encore's last post, and made it clear that he was not getting clemency, but even so, a lot of the idiots in Bollywood would, in a like situation, have kept making waves to try and save themselves.

[Mogambo]

NY Times on Bollywood and the underworld

Bollywood’s connection to the underworld can be traced back to a government regulation that made the film industry ineligible for bank credit, private equity and other legitimate commercial financing.

“As a result, films were financed by ad hoc collections of investors, many of whom were from the construction and trade industries, who charged interest rates as high as 60 to 100 percent,” said Jehil Thakkar, head of media and entertainment for KPMG.

“The industry also welcomed funds from gangsters and politicians, looking for ways to launder their ill-gotten gains, known in India as ’black money,’ said the cable. “After the government added the film industry to the list of legitimate industries, the corporatization of Bollywood – and the wider entertainment industry – began.”

Gangsters, not surprisingly, enjoy flaunting their Bollywood connections, which serve as a signal of their power in a star-struck nation. Dawood Ibrahim, Mumbai’s top gangster, who moved to Dubai, famously invited Bollywood actors to his parties in Dubai and Sharjah. Whether the film stars attended because they were pressured to or as a matter of choice remains left to speculation.

Writing in Time magazine in 2002, Richard Corliss reports that Abu Salem, the leader a notorious crime syndicate, had boasted to Indian journalists prior to his arrest that he had helped finance Devdas, one of the most expensive Bollywood films ever produced. Mr. Salem was known for his attachment to Bollywood, and had married Monica Bedi, a Bollywood starlet, and named his sons after his favorite actors.

When the phone of Chhota Shakeel, an alleged gangster, was tapped by the local police, they found that he frequently spoke with several actors, directors and producers connected to the Indian film industry, Mr. Corliss wrote. Of the 71 tapes the local police also heard incriminating phone conversations between Chhota Shakeel and Sanjay Dutt, which were then played in a special court in Mumbai in 2002.

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/newswallah-bollywood-and-organized-crime/

[Poonam]

Darshana, astute insight, and the above is what I believe happened. I have some recollection of the Maximum City feature on this, too, though I can't remember specifics - but I do remember Dutt portrayed as a spoilt, brattish, reckless fool, who likes to play at being the 'hero' while not knowing the reality around him. As a bit of a boyish fool - the industry calls him 'baba', or something.

Sanju Baba, to be precise! Baba is the term of endearment typically tacked on to little boys' names, except that in Sanjay's case, the Baba has stuck on into his late fifties.

[Dancelover]

How could a government *legally* make such a regulation at all?

And what did they *think* would happen when they did?

Howard "Dancelover" Wilkins, a Liberal American

NY Times on Bollywood and the underworld

[snip - d] ... a government regulation that made the film industry ineligible for bank credit,
private equity and other legitimate commercial financing.

“As a result, films were financed by ad hoc collections of investors, many of whom were from the construction and trade industries, who charged interest rates as high as 60 to 100 percent,” said Jehil Thakkar, head of media and entertainment for KPMG.

“The industry also welcomed funds from gangsters and politicians, looking for ways to launder their ill-gotten gains, known in India as ’black money,’ said the cable.
[snip to end of post - d]
http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/newswallah-bollywood-and-organized-crime/

[Mogambo]

How could a government *legally* make such a regulation at all?

And what did they *think* would happen when they did?

Howard "Dancelover" Wilkins, a Liberal American

I don't think the Indian government set out to deny credit to Bollywood. The truth is that to get a Bank loan you need valid collateral and Bollywood companies typically have no collateral to offer. Most of the money Bollywood collects is under the table and the payments to the artists are made under the table, therefore the financing also has to be under the table. Film making is a risky business with more misses than hits, if Banks have to finance it, there is unlimited downside with very little upside especially if only thing the banks can get their hands at are the legal collections. Film making is the same all over the world.

I remember the Indian Government partly financed the 1982 hit "Gandhi" and was to get a share of the profit. Well on paper, after Hollywood accountants were done with their accounting, Gandhi never made a profit so the Indian government never got anything back. Can anybody believe "Gandhi" one of the biggest blockbusters, lost money? According to the Indian Government's lawsuit, it did.

[senorita]

The lengthy Tehelka writeup on Sanjay's troubles.

The sins of the son
Is it enough to have a heart go gold if your feet are made of clay? Nishita Jha on a falling star who never quite gave up even as he gave in.
http://tehelka.com/the-sins-of-the-son/?singlepage=1

[....Nargis chose Zaheeda — a natural confidante for Dutt because she was younger than his mother, but old enough to play a maternal role — to confront her son about his drug habit. He was still naïve enough to believe his family was unaware of his addiction because his parents had never seen drugs. But Nargis and Zaheeda had witnessed a distant uncle lose his son to addiction. “Apa would frequently say to our uncle,” Zaheeda says, “‘had this been my son, I’d have scratched his eyes out.’ When she started seeing the same signs in Sanju — he would sleep erratically, stay locked in his bathroom all the time — she felt as though she had failed.”

Zaheeda offered to take Sanjay for a drive and a treat. Sitting in an ice-cream parlour, she asked him if he was on drugs. Dutt denied it, but Zaheeda warned him, “Your mother knows. You think she cannot see it, but she knows what’s eating you up inside.” One day, Dutt woke up from a heroin binge and began looking for something to eat. Seeing him, a servant began to cry — “Baba, you have slept for two days straight. Everyone in the house has gone mad with worry.” Dutt took one look at his distorted face in the mirror and went into his father’s study. “Dad, I’m dying. You have to save me,” he said...... ]

[tabula rasa]

From the above link:

In a section in Maximum City, Mehta describes how Sanjay, close to Abu Salem, had managed to get a friend, director Vidhu Vinod Chopra, off the extortion hook with a single phone call. In his call to Salem, Dutt had allegedly said of Chopra, “This is the one man who stood by me when I was in jail. You can’t touch him.” In a text message to TEHELKA, Chopra, who is currently in London, said he was “not qualified” to comment on the man who saved him from Abu Salem. Mehta’s description of Dutt as “brontosaurus-sized” and overly fond of “guns and muscles” and the masculine image of the Marlboro Man appears to fit in snugly with the impression from that drunken phone call: of a troubled, immature movie star playing with dangerous toys for kicks.

[melbguy]

i think people call him baba because of the movie aatish. His name was Baba in that movie.

[tabula rasa]

i think people call him baba because of the movie aatish. His name was Baba in that movie.

I think he was called that from way before, from his Rocky days, and perhaps even prior to that.

[Poonam]

Supreme Court gives Sanjay Dutt four more weeks to surrender

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted Sanjay Dutt four more weeks to surrender and undergo his remaining prison term of 42 months in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

The apex court granted partial relief to the actor on "humanitarian" grounds, a day before the deadline for his surrender ended on April 18.

Sanjay Dutt had sought a six-month extension to allow him to complete shooting of seven films worth Rs 278 crore.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Supreme-Court-gives-Sanjay-Dutt-four-more-weeks-to-surrender/articleshow/19591725.cms?

[emel3]

And 20 years later he might spend the night in jail (if that).  Question that occurs to me is: doesn't he have enough money / clout to pay for his continued jail-time postponement? 

[odadune]

And 20 years later he might spend the night in jail (if that).  Question that occurs to me is: doesn't he have enough money / clout to pay for his continued jail-time postponement? 

It is probably a question of clout, and of the authorities not wanting to appear too lenient on him.  I was under the impression that he was doing okay money-wise, after a bad period where he wasn't working much and wasn't managing his money well.

When it comes to clout, well, his politician father is dead, and most of the industry people who admire him or owe him favors either don't have as much stroke as they used to (the Bachchans), don't have all that much stroke period (nearly everyone else) or have legal difficulties of their own (Salman, Saif).

[encore]

I am disappointed by the ruling even though he only got a 4-week deferral versus the 6-month he had wanted.  I am certain that one of the reasons for him wanting a deferral is so that his proxies can continue to seek ways to get him clemency.   

Even if he does eventually go to jail, he will not be living a life of hardship.  With his money, fame and connections he will be extremely comfortable.

[James]

When it comes to clout, well, his politician father is dead, and most of the industry people who admire him or owe him favors either don't have as much stroke as they used to (the Bachchans), don't have all that much stroke period (nearly everyone else) or have legal difficulties of their own (Salman, Saif).

His sister, Priya Dutt, is a Congress party MP, but I suppose the fact that he campaigned for the rival Samajwadi Party (Socialist Party) probably complicates any attempts she could make to help him. I'm doubtful Congress party folk are going to be open to using their clout to help a guy who's campaigned for their rivals. In that respect, he's sort of shot himself in the foot.

Even if he does eventually go to jail, he will not be living a life of hardship.  With his money, fame and connections he will be extremely comfortable.

My Indian friends are likewise convinced he'll have a nice and comfortable room and be able to call friends over for a visit whenever he wants.

[Poonam]

I am certain that one of the reasons for him wanting a deferral is so that his proxies can continue to seek ways to get him clemency.   

Prophetic words, it seems!

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-21/india/38709274_1_review-petition-curative-petition-such-petition

MUMBAI: Actor Sanjay Dutt, who recently won a month's extension to surrender, has now moved the Supreme Court (SC) by way of a review petition against its March 21 judgement upholding his conviction under the Arms Act and sentencing him to five years in jail.

[encore]

My Indian friends are likewise convinced he'll have a nice and comfortable room and be able to call friends over for a visit whenever he wants.

This is how his prison life will be like:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQhBfRDd6GM

(Substitute vino for scotch, veal/lobster for tandoori chicken and Sinatra for Kishore.  Onions and garlic get treated the same way).

Nana Patekar is one of the only person from the industry who has spoken out against Sanjay baba....and he did not mince his words:

"The nature of his crime is horrible. Why should justice be meted out differently for him?" Patekar said.

"The law is different for a poor man and different for me, just because I am actor? Why should that be?" he said.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-25/news-interviews/38816314_1_sunil-dutt-sanjay-dutt-nana-patekar