06 August,2024 07:09 AM IST | Mumbai | Upala KBR
Sanjay Dutt
In July, mid-day reported that Sanjay Dutt had been roped in to play the antagonist in Son of Sardaar 2, starring Ajay Devgn and Mrunal Thakur (Dutt vs Devgn again, July 2). As planned, Vijay Kumar Arora's action comedy went on floors in Scotland on July 24. But not everything has moved like clockwork. mid-day has exclusively learnt that Dutt had to be replaced in the sequel to Son of Sardaar (2012). Reason? We hear the senior actor was not granted the visa to travel to the United Kingdom.
It is believed that Dutt's visa application was rejected because of his incarceration in the past. In April 1993, the actor was arrested under the TADA and the Arms Act and convicted later for violation of Arms Act for possession of illegal weapons procured from the other accused in the 1993 Bombay bombings. He was sentenced to five years in prison. In March 2013, the Supreme Court upheld Dutt's five-year sentence, and after multiple bails, he finally completed his jail term in 2016.]
A source reveals that Dutt was unable to procure a UK visa in the past as well. "Ever since his arrest in 1993, while Sanju has travelled to the US, he has applied for a UK visa multiple times, but never got one. The Son of Sardaar 2 shoot would have been his first trip to the UK. However, after Ajay's team found out that the senior actor's visa request had been rejected, they replaced him with Ravi Kishan," says the source. Kishan, who recently won wide praise for his performance in Laapataa Ladies, joined the unit in Scotland on July 25.
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With this development, what happens of Dutt's next, Housefull 5? After all, Akshay Kumar's ensemble comedy is slated to roll in September in London. Will producer Sajid Nadiadwala have to look for a replacement as well? Not really. The source explains, "Sajid has chosen a wiser route. While the shooting with the cast begins in London, all of Sanju's portions will be filmed in Mumbai. So, there are no issues on that front."
mid-day reached out to Dutt, who did not respond till press time.
