Good News - Pooja Bhatt's Dhokha goes Tax-Free

For all the wrong reasons that Dhokha was marred with, this news comes as a breather for director Pooja Bhatt, that Dhokha has been exempted from tax in Maharashtra and Delhi. Needless to say, that she is on the seventh heaven now. It is indeed a big thing for her considering the fact that the other two films that came out with Dhokha are out of the theatres. When IndiaFM spoke to her about this, a beaming Pooja said, “It’s indeed a great feeling. It is a very big thing for us as the ticket prices getting slashed to almost half will make the film accessible to the masses who need to see and learn from a film like this. We released Dhokha only in the multiplexes, since we could not get the single screens. Aag demanded and commanded more respect from the exhibitors and they gave them a kind of a much better peg, as it had the whole of the industry in it and was also the remake of Sholay.”

She added that Dhokha was not as controversial as Jism, which had a lot more to offer on the surface than Dhokha. Dhokha is more of a story’s film. She considers the ‘Tax-Free’ status as a great validation for the entire unit since they feel that their hard work has finally been paid off.

Looking at the trend of ‘sequels’ mushrooming in the market, when quizzed if she plans to do a sequel to Dhokha, Pooja laughed it off stating that she too busy enjoying the moment and was not in a mood to think anything else. On a lighter note, she added that if ever she was to make a Dhokha Part 2, she will follow the idiot box way and change the face of the actor! If that doesn’t work, then, she will take a cue from her grandfather, who was into the mythological films, and who would ‘transform’ the actors who used to throw tantrums, into animals!

Bollywood actor Dutt freed on bail in India

MUMBAI - Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, jailed for six years for receiving guns from gangsters involved in the country’s worst bombings, was released from prison on bail in western India early on Thursday.

Dutt, sporting a beard and a shaved head, walked free following 24 days in jail and after being granted bail by the Supreme Court on Monday while his lawyers challenge the conviction.

“I just want to thank all my fans who supported me, and all those who stood for three days outside the jail and I couldn’t meet,” Dutt told reporters at his residence.

“I have a long battle to fight. Please pray for me and thank you.”

The macho actor began serving his six-year sentence on July 31 -- less the 16 months he served while awaiting trial over the bomb attacks that killed 257 people in India’s commercial capital of Mumbai in 1993.

Dutt, 48, stepped out of the jail in Pune city and shook the hands of police officers before leaving for home.

Dressed in a white, striped shirt, he was received by a few friends and lawyers, flown to Mumbai in a private jet and then driven to his house in a black limousine.

“I knew he would walk out free. I’m so happy,” Trishala Dutt, the actor’s daughter and a US resident, told local television by telephone. “I can’t believe it’s happening.”

The actor, who earned fame playing anti-hero and gangster roles, was welcomed by family and friends, some of whom had arrived from overseas. A coconut was broken at the doorstep as an auspicious ritual and part of an emotional reception.

His sister Priya, a lawmaker in India’s lower house of parliament, hugged him as he arrived home. Dozens of fans scrambled for a glimpse of the actor outside his home in a swish Mumbai neighbourhood.

His family plans a special thanksgiving prayer to be performed by Hindu priests.

“I will abide by the court,” Dutt said, adding that he had full faith in the judiciary. “

Jubilant Bollywood

But the respite for Dutt could be temporary.

His lawyers had petitioned the country’s top court against his conviction and sought bail until that appeal was ruled on.

They said they could not argue the case as they were yet to get a copy of the judgment of the Mumbai court that sentenced Dutt. The court agreed to release the actor until the lawyers get a copy of the verdict.

Court officials said Dutt could be served a copy in a month’s time, after which he might have to go back to jail.

Dutt’s temporary release was welcomed by Bollywood, which has stood solidly behind a man they think was impulsive but had suffered enough for his indiscretions.

“The last 14 years of uncertainty and anxiety and the jail terms in between have been enough punishment for him,” said Ravi Chopra, a top Bollywood producer. “The court can now be lenient.”

Dutt has about $12 million riding on him -- a substantial amount by Bollywood standards -- in three films under production.

“We can think about him working later. What’s important now is for him to spend time with his family,” his lawyer Satish Maneshinde told Reuters.

Dutt’s lawyers have argued that his conviction by a special anti-terrorism court in Mumbai was based on a confession that he had later retracted.

“A retracted confession is a weak piece of evidence,” the petition said, arguing that the conviction should also be overturned because no arms or ammunition were ever recovered from Dutt or his home.

It urged the court to award him some form of punishment other than jail.

Dutt was among the last of 100 people convicted in the blast case.

- Reuters