Subhash Ghai says he knew Sanjay Dutt was ‘innocent’ at the time of his arrest: ‘He was trapped’

Filmmaker Subhash Ghai said that he knew actor Sanjay Dutt really closely and knew he was ‘innocent’ at the time of his arrest in 1993. Their film, Khalnayak, released around the same time and was a huge success.

Subhash said that it was against his ethics to cash in on Sanjay’s tough time and revealed that he did not spend a single rupee on the promotion of Khalnayak. Sanjay played a wanted criminal in the film.

“I have known Sanjay Dutt ever since he was a kid. I directed his second film, Vidhaata. Then after 10 years, I cast him in Khalnayak. I knew him really closely. When he was arrested I knew he was innocent but was trapped,” he told Bollywood Hungama, adding, “He was not a criminal.”

Subhash said that he never used Sanjay’s legal controversy to promote Khalnayak. “I did not spend a single rupee to promote Khalnayak. I stayed silent. There was such a furore over Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai, 32 political units were against me, there were court cases against me. But I stayed quiet. I knew what film I had made, I knew what Sanjay Dutt was, I knew what Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai was,” he said.

In April 1993, Sanjay was arrested under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act. While he was released on bail a month later, his bail was cancelled in 1994 and he was arrested again. He was let out of jail in October 1995.

Also see: When Shah Rukh Khan joined Bollywood to support jailed Sanjay Dutt, called him ‘very nice guy’. Watch video from 1994

Sanjay was convicted under the Arms Act by a TADA court in 2006 after he was found guilty of possessing a 9mm pistol and an AK-56 rifle but acquitted of the more serious TADA charges. He spent a few days in jail in 2007 but was granted bail in less than three weeks. He also spent time in jail from 2013 to 2016.