Sanjay Dutt's producers heave a sigh of relief

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Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) Producers of Sanjay Dutt's films are relieved after Supreme Court granted the actor four weeks time to surrender to serve the remaining period of his sentence in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

"Policegiri" producer T.P. Aggarwal told IANS: "Of course, it's a great relief for all of us. Now he has a month's time more to finish his projects. There were some more work pending like patch work and dubbing. I will speak to Sanjay and we will start the work in next two days."

He further added: "I am glad now we don't have to hurry up to finish the work. It will take two to three days for patch work and around two days for the dubbing."

Sentenced for five years for possessing weapons illegally during the 1993 Mumbai riots, Sanjay, 53, wanted six more months to surrender to complete his projects worth Rs.278 crore.

The actor has already spent 18 months in jail and has to undergo the remaining three-and-a-half-year sentence. The Supreme Court had on March 21 granted Sanjay four weeks - ending April 18 - to surrender. Upholding his conviction under the Arms Act, the court had reduced his sentence from six to five years.

Director Raj Kumar Hirani too was left to shoot with Sanjay for eight days for "PK", which also stars Aamir Khan.

A source close to the team of "PK" revealed: "The scheduling is not yet done, we will schedule the dates for the shoot with Sanjay Dutt soon."

Besides "Policegiri" and "PK", Sanajy is also part of Karan Johar's "Unglee".

Aggarwal feels that Sanjay will manage to wrap his films, but he will miss promotions of his films.

"Yes his absence in the promotions will affect, but we will come up with some solution. Lets first finish the shooting first," he said.

Trade Analyst Taran Adarsh too agrees that "there is a relief for the producers to finish their projects with Sanjay Dutt".

"Unglee", "Policegiri" and "Zanjeer" are slated to come out this year, while "PK" may hit the screens next year.