As we all know now Sanjay Dutt was sentenced for 6 years in prison for possession of illegal arms. In Bollywood, and all over the world, many feel this sentence was much too harsh. Bollywood fans have been speaking out against this punishment in posts and blogs all over the internet.
The blogosphere is full of support for Baba:
“I am very sad, gutted, broken and feeling very low. Don’t know how much more our dear Sanjay Dutt has to suffer yet? I think he is the only man in whole film fraternity who has gone through so many ups and down in his life.”, writes Sheetal on sheetudeep.com.
A blogger named 2S on Mutiny.in says, “While folks might not care even if Rs 500 million worth of movie business is riding on him, the impact that Lage Raho Munnabhai had, and the Gandhigiri wave that swept the nation is one that’s rarely seen before. So reel and real are different, but why isn’t anyone taking into account his impact on people as a person? People tell me, that his repentance won’t bring back those who died in the ’93 blasts. First question – was he fully responsible for it? Second question, agree, for a minute, that his repentance means nothing now. If so, what will get the departed back? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Zilch.”
There are posts that yes perhaps he should have been punished, he did break the law but that jail time was much too severe.
“Many might argue that Sanjay Dutt should be treated the same as others. Agreed. But here is a guy whose influence on the Indian public, here in India and abroad, on the Indian youth, here and abroad, extends far beyond most celebrities. Here was a chance for the court to make Dutt into an example by turning the responsibility of the anti-terror campaign over to this influential actor. Here was a chance for the court to go beyond a personal sentence and utilise this golden opportunity to initiate a novel fight against terrorism. I feel sad to see the hammer of justice coming down harshly and pointlessly so for someone who could have turned the tables around for all of us”, wrote a blogger on IndiaTime.com.
Many of my colleagues and I have written in a topic here at Bollyspice forum that he has admitted that he has done wrong, has all ready spent time in jail for this and now should be free. “Sanjay Dutt in 1993 and Sanjay Dutt in 2007 are two different people! He did wrong and he’s admitted to it, he even spent 16 months in jail, so WHY are they doing this to him all over again? He has suffered for 14 years! Its just so sad and upsetting to see him so helpless! He’s been through soooo much in life he really doesn’t need this now!
Plus, his cell is next to those REAL TERRORISTS like Abu Salem and people from the Chotta Rajan gang or what not! Why are they treating him like a criminal? He didn’t kill nobody! Seriously, this is all the stupid judge’s fault. I read somewhere that he just came to this decision to SHOW that not even anyone from Bollywood is above the law. Well, its a wrong way to show it you moron! Why give Baba 6 yrs and those other two 5 yrs and 2 yrs respectively? And the 3rd one was just freed because of his “Age”! -Aditi
Gurdas on Guldasta.wordpress.com wrote a blog post on crime and punishment and if the legal systems methods are really the answer. “Justice should be about healing, reform and correction. Punishment should be an option only when the accused refuses to follow a path of reform or simply refuses to cooperate in a manner beneficial to society…Having proven his guilt, one must ask what are the options before us for Sanjay Dutt? Does the society and the country benefit by Sanjay Dutt going to jail? How about Sanjay Dutt receiving a punishment that says “you will build an orphanage for children who lose their parents in riots and also build a hospital that attends to trauma patients”. That will benefit society, give Dutt a chance to reform, increase his love for society and increase society’s love and patience with people who are fundamentally good but just happen to commit an anomalous crime.”
The judge in this case was trying to make an example of Sanjay Dutt and many feel that his crime was far less than some other Bollywood stars who have gotten much more lenient sentences. Particularly Salman Khan’s troubles with the law was mentioned in several posts: Ajit on Sepiamutiny.com wrote, “That Salman Khan is out having fun having run over homeless/poor people with his car and gone hunting endangered species is outrageous. Sanjay Dutt seems nowhere near as bad in comparison.”
There has even been a petition started to ask the President of India to Free Sanjay Dutt (http://www.petitiononline.com/Sanju786/petition.html)
Around the world, prayers and good wishes are being sent to Sanjay Dutt. His lawyers are busy preparing an appeal case for the Supreme Court. I, for one, hope that he is freed, he has all ready done the time for this crime and the fact that he is a Bollywood star should not be a factor in his sentence. I hope justice is done and offer my support to him.
