Dhamaal producers fondly remember Sanjay

By: Upala KBR, Mid-Day
Monday, August 06, 2007
Producer Ashok Thakeria and director Indra Kumar (who has also directed Dhamaal) can't forget Sanjay Dutt's commitment to their film. The actor ensured that he completed Dhamaal so that they wouldn't suffer losses. Not just that, when they sent a CD of the film's promos to the actor, he said he loved the film before leaving for court on Tuesday (July 31).

Says Thakeria, "Indu and I can never forget Sanju's gesture. When we narrated the script he instantly agreed to do it, saying it was pure dhamaal."

On the last day of shooting at Film City, where a huge set had been erected, Sanju shot till 3 am without complaining. "People close to him were shocked. They told us Baba has never shot for one and a half days at a stretch. We were touched. It was only because of Sanju's commitment that our film is complete today."

That wasn't all. Sanjay even attended a photo shoot for the publicity stills and promos at Mehboob Studio while his case was on. "In fact, he came straight from court to the studio and shot woith us for an hour," says a grateful Thakeria.

The producer adds that Sanju is a very sharp actor and picks up his lines instantly. "He is not the kind to retire to his van after canning shots. He sits right next to the camera, watching every scene."

Though he is a prankster, Sanju didn't display too much of his fun side as the court case was weighing him down. "But not once did he cancel the shoot because of that," says Thakeria.

He met Dutt on July 31 when he was leaving for court. "We had sent him CDs of Dhamaal's promos last week. We had gone to see him and just before leaving for court, Sanju showed us a thumbs up sign and said, 'It's rocking! Everyone loves the promos.' That was the last we saw of him."

Ashok has only one request. "I pray that Sanju is out before Dhamaal releases on September 11, so that he can be part of the happy event." He acts with Arshad Warsi and Riteish Deshmukh in the film.