Shoaib Akhtar to meet Sanju in jail

The Pakistani cricketer will soon meet Sanju at Yerawada Jail, Pune. He will also give a special gift to the actor

Pakistani pace ace Shoaib Akhtar wants to meet Sanjay Dutt, who is currently serving a sentence at Yerawada Jail in Pune. The cricketer's PR company, Bobby Khan Holdings, is making all the arrangements to see that his wish is fulfilled.

Shoaib wants to meet Sanjay and tell him that he has a huge fan following in Pakistan who is praying for him, and furthermore, he wants to take a message from the actor to the Pakistanis. Salman Ahmed (Group Managing Director of Bobby Khan Holdings) confirms and says, "Yesterday, Shoaib expressed his wish to meet Sanjay Dutt as he is a huge fan of the actor."

Since Sanjay is lodged in Yerawada jail currently, Ahmed will first approach the actor's sister, Priya. "Our company will request her to make the arrangements so that Shoaib can meet Sanjay. If that doesn't work out, we will approach the Mumbai police and seek the required permission," Ahmed says.

Ahmed does not feel that the task is difficult. "Sanjay and Shoaib have known each other for a long time. They have met before on a couple of occasions and they share a good bond," he adds.

If Dutt is released on November 20 (when his bail plea comes up for hearing), Shoaib will have no problem meeting him. When in Mumbai, or after the on-going India-Pakistan tour is over, he will meet Sanjay at his Pali Hill residence.

When contacted, Shoaib says, "Sanju is a great human being. As an individual and a Pakistani, I want him to know that he is loved by our nation and there are families in Pakistan who say special prayers for Sanju's release. These are testing times for Sanju and his family."

"I have a special gift for Sanju which I will give him in private and not make it public knowledge. It's not very expensive but something which will give him a lot of peace. I'd also like to take this opportunity to tell Sanju that we all love him," adds Shoaib.

Incidentally, Shoaib had been offered Sanjay's role of a gangster-on-the run in Mahesh Bhatt's Gangster. The role was played by Shiney Ahuja after both Sanjay and Shoaib turned down the offer. That Shoaib did not do the film due to date problem is another story, but he had shown a keen interest in the project only after he realised that the role had first been offered to Sanjay.

Mahesh Bhatt had said then: "Shoaib was initially amused by the idea of doing a film but when he realised that the role was for real and was offered to Sanjay, he took it up seriously and agreed to meet me in Pakistan. We were looking out for a person who had the combination of a young vulnerable face as well as raw looks. Earlier we had thought of Sanju, but there were date problems, so when Meera, actress of my film Nazar, suggested Shoaib's name, I immediately jumped at the idea."