Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal has said he met jailed murder convict Arun Gawli in connection with an upcoming film as police recorded his statement over his "unauthorised" meeting with the gangster-turned-politician in a hospital here.
Police summoned and recorded the statement of Rampal after it came to light he had an "unauthorised" meeting with Gawli, a former MLA, at the Government-run JJ hospital.
In the statement, the actor admitted he met Gawli for 10 minutes and his discussion revolved around understanding the personality of the mobster as his upcoming movie 'Daddy' is loosely based on him.
"Rampal's statement was recorded on Tuesday in connection with his meeting with Gawli," Dhananjay Kulkarni, Deputy Commissioner of Police, said today.
Another officer said, "The actor claimed that while looking for shooting locations in South Mumbai for the movie, he went to J J Hospital when he learnt about Gawli's presence there."
When he tried to enter the relevant ward to meet Gawli, a guard deployed there stopped him, the officer said, quoting from the statement.
"The actor said coincidently Gawli walked out of the room at that time and he managed to meet and talk to him. Rampal said he talked to Gawli to understand his personality," the officer said on condition of anonymity.
The 42-year-old actor, playing the role of Gawli in the under-production film, met the gangster (who is called 'Daddy' by his supporters) on December 28 last year.
J J Marg Police launched an inquiry and summoned the actor to understand the purpose of the meeting.
Gawli is currently serving life term for the 2007 murder of a Corporator, Kamlakar Jamsandekar. He had been brought to the hospital from a Navi Mumbai jail for routine medical examination.
