The news of Sanjay Dutt's conviction for possessing arms in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case has relieved several of his colleagues and well wishers.
Sanjay is a good man: Arshad Warsi
Heaving a sigh of relief at the acquittal of Sanjay Dutt under the provisions of Tada in the 1993 blasts here, his co-star in the Munnabhai series Arshad Warsi said he was grateful the actor had been convicted on "milder" charges.
"We thank the almighty that he has been given a milder conviction," Warsi said, referring to Sanjay being pronounced guilty by the court of Judge P D Kode under the Arms Act.
Talking to a news channel, Warsi said Sanjay`s friends had all been praying for him.
"Thank god they did not say that he is a terrorist. He is not a terrorist, not a criminal...He is a clear cut good man," Warsi said.
Warsi, who played circuit, the sidekick to Sanjay`s Munnabhai in the two hit films, said, "Eveybody in his life makes stupid mistakes and every actor in the film industry at one point of time must have thought of possessing a weapon.
"It is the way the country is running," he said, referring to threats recently issued to filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt.
Warsi hoped that Sanjay would return home soon "as the whole country loves him".
Justice has been done, feel Raza Murad
"Justice has been done to Sanju and this is an end to his 13 years of torture," said character actor Raza Murad who was one of the first people to arrive at the Dutt residence to welcome Sanjay home.
Murad said the court verdict proves that the film industry is not anti-national and its members no traitors. "We only sell dreams and not our nation," he told reporters.
Ganesha has saved him: Asha Bhosle on `singer' Sanjay Dutt
Attributing the acquittal of actor Sanjay Dutt from terrorism charge by a court to
Lord Ganesha's blessings on his devotee, singing legend Asha Bhosle said she was happy that he no longer had to face the humiliation of being dubbed a terrorist.
"No artist is a terrorist. I am very delighted that he has been absolved of the terrorism charge," Bhosle told while speaking about Dutt who recently sang along with her in her latest musical video `Asha And Friends'.
Asked how she rated Dutt as a singer, bhosle said "He is not a classical singer or one in the mould of Mohammad Rafi. Let that be clear. His voice is manly. One feels after
listening to him that a collegian is singing.”
"For a child of such illustrious parents, life has brought a lot of misery in his way," Bhosle said. "He lost his wife due to cancer and later faced the humiliation of being
dubbed as a terrorist. I feel sorry for him," she added.
"One learns from mistakes in life. I am sure this experience would teach him a lot and he would be able to take charge of his life for the better," she said.
Film traders in Rajasthan happy at Sanjay acquittal
Film traders in Rajasthan, where Sanjay Dutt acted in his first film 'Reshma Aur Shera', are happy the agonising wait is over for the Bollywood star.
As a child artiste, Sanjay acted alongside his father Sunil Dutt in the film largely shot in Jaisalmer and Bikaner districts. Waheeda Rehman, Vinod Khanna, Rakhee, Amitabh
Bachchan and Amrish Puri also star in the 1971 film about a family feud.
"I am very happy for him...I would be more happy if the court had acquitted him of the arms act charges. But the outcome is a great relief," film distributor Raj Bansal said
of today's verdict by the Tada court in Mumbai.
"I know Sanjay from his early days as he has shot almost a dozen films in Rajasthan and the last I met him was in August when we went to Vaishno Devi in Jammu... He is a humble and honest human being," Bansal said.
Nandita Das, Raima Sen sympathise with Sanjay Dutt
"It is very sad news. I worked with him and I know him to be a nice man. He has bounced back from a lot of lows in his life including (his father) Sunil Duttsaab passing away. I can only say that my prayers are with him," said actress Nandita Das, who worked with Sanjay in Mahesh Manjrekar's "Pitaah".
She, however, appealed to the media not to sensationalise the news, saying, "I know the media will have a field day with this news. But let us not be voyeuristic about this. He is going through a hard time.
"Justice should be done, irrespective of whether he is a big star or not. Let us not target him just because he is a star, nor should he be dealt with leniently because of his celebrity status," she said.
Raima Sen, Sanjay's co-star in just completed movie "eklavya", too had sympathetic words for him. "It is a very sad time for him. My thoughts are with him. I just heard the news and will be SMS-ing him soon," she said.
Bollywood relieved at Sanjay being cleared of 'terrorist' tag
Bollywood today expressed happiness at film star Sanjay Dutt being cleared of the "terrorist" tag, saying his conviction on milder charges in the 1993 blasts here was for "stupid mistakes" he had made.
Leading director Karan Johar said, "It is heartening to know that finally the verdict is out and he has not been convicted for any conspiracy."
Theatre and film actor Boman Irani said Sanjay's conviction on milder charges under the arms act gave him a great sense of relief as it removed the "terrorist" tag stuck on him for over a decade. "I hope there is not any sentence."
Shiv Sena leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi said, "He (Sanjay) had made a mistake of keeping a weapon -- an AK-56 rifle -- at his home."
Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh said, "I am very happy that Sanjay was not involved in any conspiracy."
Former Police Officer Y P Singh said, "Innocent Indians got carried away by the PR exercise launched by Sanjay Dutt which portrayed him as a god-fearing man who visits temples.
"Had a similar incident happened in connection with the 9/11 terror attacks, people in the US would have boycotted the actor," Singh said.
Bureau Report
