My god, what a punishment!!!

Sanjay Dutt's sentencing to six years in jail has sent shock waves through the Hindi film industry, with producers of at least three films involving the actor wondering about the fate of their incomplete projects, pegged at around Rs.1 billion (Rs.100 crores).

And whether people get to see a third sequel of the much-loved Munnabhai series remains a big question mark.

The actor was sentenced Tuesday to jail by a court for possessing illegal arms in the 1993 Mumbai terror bombings.

"I think film producers must be in a state of shock. Apparently Rs.1 billion was riding on his shoulders. It is too early to predict anything about his career after six years," trade analyst Taran Adarsh told.

"The films he was working in are 'Mr. Fraud' (Abbas Mustan), 'Kidnap' (Sanjay Gadhvi) and 'Alibaug' (of close friend Sanjay Gupta). He had also started working in 'Mehbooba'. But right we can't say anything. We will have to wait and watch," added Taran.

If Sanjay Dutt was taken unawares over the quantum of sentence as he had hoped the judge would heed his plea for probation, his producers are in a dilemma - especially those in the middle of shooting for films starring Sanjay.

The minimum budget for a Sanjay starrer is said to be Rs.150 million (Rs.15 crores).

However, most producers refused to comment when contacted for their reactions.

Close associates and friends of the star are unhappy with the sentence given to the 48-year-old actor.

Veteran Malayalam superstar Mammootty, expressing sadness over the verdict, said in Thiruvananthapuram: "Even though before the law all are equal, I sincerely feel that this should not have happened to Sanjay Dutt. We all hope that since he has been given permission to appeal in the Supreme Court he has still hope, and so do all his well wishers."

Yesteryear's popular actress Saira Banu, a close family friend of the Dutt family, was quite emotional. "I am heartbroken. Whatever punishment has been meted out far exceeds the error. People have forgotten the atmosphere at the time of error (the riots that followed the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992). We were under constant threats," Saira was quoted as saying after the sentencing.

"Sanju rescued injured people from the streets even when bullets were flying and took them to the hospital. People make errors in such situations. My god, what a punishment!" she added.

Kunal Kohli, a prominent filmmaker, told a TV channel: "Sanju is a nice person. He has already paid for what happened. It's really sad and upsetting as some one as kind hearted as Sanju is going through this. He has suffered a lot and we can't even imagine what he is going through right now."

Sanjay was one of the top heroes in 1993. But after his arrest then, no big producer wanted to cast him as they feared he would be in and out of jail and it would affect their films.

However, after coming out of jail in 1995 Sanjay scaled new heights in Bollywood. He gave hits like "Dushman", "Vaatav: The Reality" and the super hit "Munnabhai" series. His recent hit "Shootout At Lokhandwala" was a box office winner.

Sanjay starrer "Dhamaal" is ready for release.

Unless the Supreme Court intervenes in his favour, his incomplete projects might well not see the light of day.