2 Days Before Mumbai Hostage Crisis, Rohit Arya's 'Film' Message To Actor

A day after Mumbai filmmaker Rohit Arya was shot dead by police - he held 19 people, including 17 children, hostage and demanded Rs 2.4 crore in 'dues' from the Maharashtra government - city-based actor Ruchita Vijay Jadhav revealed a disturbing layer to the horrific event.

In a long post on Instagram, Jadhav said Arya contacted her and asked her to meet to discuss a "film project". This was on October 23. The 'project' was a film about a hostage situation.

A horrific situation that then unfolded a week later.

Did Arya want a 'cinematic perspective' on his planned taking of hostages?

Or did he simply want an unrelated party, someone who had no idea of the macabre events to come, to vet the plan, to check for possible loopholes or flaws?

Or was Thursday's drama supposed to happen on an earlier day, a day an unsuspecting Ruchita Jadhav agreed to meet Rohit Arya at his studio in Powai, where he was eventually killed?

There will never be an answer to this question, for Arya took it with him to his grave.

An understandably traumatised Jadhav said on Instagram, "... today, on October 31, when I saw the terrifying incident in the news, involving this same person, I felt a chill. I can't stop thinking about how close I came to being there. I feel incredibly grateful to God and my family..."

The message on Instagram by Mumbai actor Ruchita Jadhav. Credit: @ruchitavijayjadhav

"... I truly believe someone up there was protecting me... I hope it reminds you too, we need to be extremely careful when meeting new people for work, no matter how normal things appear."

Jadhav said contact was first made on October 4.

And on October 23 Arya asked for a meeting. He gave Jadhav a choice of three dates starting October 27. "I confirmed I could meet on the 28th..." the actor said on Instagram.

Second half of Instagram message by Mumbai actor Ruchita Jadhav. Credit: @ruchitavijayjadhav

"However, due to an unavoidable family commitment, I cancelled the meeting," she said, expressing gratitude again for instincts that led her to skip that Tuesday meeting.

Rohit Arya, the Mumbai hostage-taker

The 'show', though, went on.

A little past noon on Thursday, Arya locked the doors to his studio and told the 19 people assembled there, lured on pretext of an 'audition', that they were now his hostages.

His demand, in a video posted an hour into the crisis, were 'simple, moral, and ethical'.

The demand - that the Maharashtra government pay out the Rs 2.4 crore he believed was his due for leading Project Let's Change, an urban sanitation drive that involved 59 lakh students.

READ | Rohit Arya Wanted Rs 2.4 Crore, Then Took 17 Children Hostage

The brief video added to the terror; Arya's rambling remarks, "I don't have many demands... I have very simple demands, moral demands, ethical demands, and a few questions. I want to talk to some people, ask them questions, and if I have counter-questions I want to ask them..."

Arya said taking children as hostages was part of his 'plan' and that he would hurt them.

The police tried to persuade Arya to stand down but, eventually, pulled the trigger; one of the cops who had managed to sneak into the building noticed a gun being aimed at a child.

Rohit Arya and the Powai studio where he held 19 people hostage.

The cop fired. The bullet hit Arya in his chest. Arya died. The hostages were saved.

Hours later the Maharashtra government issued a detailed note explaining that it did not, in fact, owe Rohit Arya any money. In fact, the state claimed Arya owed it money after wrongfully collecting cash - as 'registration fee' - from schools participating in the cleanliness drive.

NDTV Exclusive | How Rohit Arya Was Shot By Cops In Mumbai Hostage Drama

Arya's wife Anjali later told reporters her husband had fought both for the money promised, i.e., the Rs 2.4 crore he claimed had been sanctioned, and 'recognition' for his work.

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