Makers of the hit franchise 'Munnabhai' - Raj Kumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra - say that they will wait for actor Sanjay Dutt to make the third movie in the series.
Dutt is sentenced to five years in jail by the Supreme Court for illegal arms possession during the 1993 serial Mumbai blasts. The 53-year-old has already served 18 months of his term and will now have to spend three and a half years in jail.
Dutt played the role of a lovable goon in two 'Munnabhai' movies - 'Munnabhai MBBS' (2003) and 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai' (2006) - along with Arshad Warsi. The films became the greatest hits of his career.
"The reel Munnabhai will wait for the real Munnabhai. He will indeed walk on the sets of the next Munnabhai as he comes back to us free," Hirani and Chopra said in a statement.
"Just two days back Sanjay Dutt called and said, 'Its tough to be in prison but I'm ready to go there because when I come back... I will experience freedom in its true sense. I will be rid of this monkey who has been sitting on my back for the last twenty years and scaring me. When I walk out of Prison, I want to walk straight onto the sets of Munnabhai," they added.
Hirani and Chopra also feel the government should show some leniency towards the actor.
"The Sanju we have known - dignified and positive in all adversities. Away from the film sets, his life revolved around court appearances, legal advice, lacerating uncertainties about his future, and impending trips to the jail.
"In our understanding, jails exist to reform people who have erred, not to wreak vengeance upon them. The Sanju that we know is a fully reformed and responsible citizen. We believe that it would not be wrong at all to take into consideration the demonstrably reformed self of this man. To show leniency towards such a citizen upholds the spirit of justice, and does not in any way undermine it."
The third series will be directed by Subhash Kapoor of 'Jolly LLB' fame.
Dutt is currently trying to complete the shooting of his films like 'Zanjeer' remake, 'Policegiri', 'Ungli' and 'PK'.
