Sanjay Dutt to start dubbing for Zanjeer this week

Mumbai: Actor Sanjay Dutt, who has been sentenced to five years in jail in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, will start dubbing for Zanjeer on 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 Teja 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 on 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 Bacchan," 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.