Posted:
Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 28, 2014)
A few days ago, Shiney Ahuja landed up at Mahesh Bhatt's Khar office looking for work. The visit came as a surprise to the team at Vishesh Films, especially as the actor was accompanied by his wife Anupam.
Even though Shiney has acted in two productions under the banner, Gangster and Woh Lamhe, Mahesh Bhatt's frankspeak after he was accused of raping his maid in 2009, did not go down well with Shiney.
But the visit did not bear fruit as Bhatt's associates ruled against casting him in any future projects. "Shiney knew that I would meet him warmly, and I did," says Bhatt, adding that he called his three directors, Vikram Bhatt, Mohit Suri and Karan Dara, who were in the adjacent room, and informed them that Shiney wanted to get his career back on track. "I told them to consider Shiney as a potential candidate for key roles in their new ventures."
A few minutes later, Shiney trudged back home and Bhatt recalls that he looked "nervous, meek and low on self-esteem". "Today, he is not the Shiney I knew," admits Bhatt. A long discussion followed after Shiney's exit and most members of the team expressed serious reservations about casting Shiney.
They pointed out that a guilty verdict mid-shoot will hamper the project in which he is cast. Besides, casting someone accused of rape, before he is declared innocent, could raise questions against their banner.
Says Bhatt, "I have understood their concerns. And I reiterate what I said earlier that if proven guilty by the highest court, then he deserves to be punished according to the law."
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