Hyderabad:
Actor
Sanjay
Dutt,
who
has
been
sentenced
to
five
years
in
jail
in
the
1993
Mumbai
blasts
case,
will
start
dubbing
for
Zanjeer
Thursday,
director
Apoorva
Lakhia
said.
Lakhia
said
they
require
three
days
with
Sanjay
to
complete
the
movie,
a
remake
of
1973
hit
of
the
same
name
that
had
starred
Amitabh
Bachchan
in
the
lead
role.
Sanjay,
who
is
playing
Sher
Khan,
originally
played
by
Pran,
will
start
shooting
soon
after
the
return
of
Priyanka
Chopra
from
Miami.
Priyanka
is
playing
the
female
lead
opposite
Telugu
actor
Ram
Charan
in
both
Hindi
and
Telugu
versions
of
Zanjeer.
The
Supreme
Court,
which
last
week
upheld
Sanjay's
conviction
under
the
Arms
Act
for
illegally
possessing
weapons,
and
sent
him
to
five
years'
imprisonment,
asked
him
to
surrender
within
four
weeks
of
the
verdict.
"He
is
my
friend
and
mentor.
Personally,
I
can't
comment
much
on
the
way
he
is
feeling.
Obviously
he
is
feeling
down,
but
he
is
taking
this
in
his
stride
because
he
respects
the
constitution
of
India
and
the
Supreme
Court.
I
have
been
with
him
and
he
is
doing
pretty
well," said
Lakhia
Monday
at
a
function
organised
to
release
the
teasers
of
Toofan,
the
Telugu
version
of
Zanjeer.
Talking
about
Sanjay,
Priyanka
said,
"For
the
industry
and
for
me
as
his
colleague
and
friend,
it
is
a
extremely
sad
moment.
I
wish
the
family
strength
and
courage."
She
hoped
that
Sanjay
would
get
some
respite
from
the
judiciary
keeping
in
mind
his
family.
"We
all
respect
the
law.
What
needs
to
be
done,
needs
to
be
done,"
the
actress
said
in
obvious
reference
to
the
demand
for
Sanjay's
pardon.
Ram
Charan
Teja,
the
lead
actor
for
the
film,
described
it
as
unfortunate.
"We
love
him.
I
have
fond
memories
of
him.
He
has
been
very
kind
to
me.
It
is
quite
unfortunate.
The
whole
industry
is
with
him.
We
all
support
him.
I
hope
the
best
happens
to
him
and
his
family,"
he
said.
Zanjeer
producer
Amit
Mehra
said
it
would
be
released
during
summer.
"Toofan
is
a
big
film
on
its
own.
Finding
a
date
for
their
simultaneous
release
is
very
critical.
We
are
going
through
that.
We
will
announce
the
date
shortly
but
it
will
be
during
summer,"
said
Mehra,
son
of
Prakash
Mehra,
the
maker
of
the
original
Zanjeer.
Lakhia
added
Zanjeer
is
his
interpretation
of
the
iconic
movie.
"We
have
tried
to
make
it
as
different
as
possible.
It
is
a
Zanjeer
of
today.
It
is
also
a
tribute
to
Prakash
Mehra
(director-producer
of
the
original)
and
Amitabh
Bachchan,"
he
added.
The
director
said
when
Amit
Mehra
approached
him
with
the
project,
his
only
condition
was
that
he
would
make
the
movie
with
Ram
Charan
as
the
hero.
IANS