Bollywood star stirs movie set; Actor charged in 1992-93 bombings Indian court gave permission to travel........

Toronto Star

A Bollywood star facing charges for alleged links to Islamic militants is in Alberta filming a movie that casts him as an anti-terrorist agent.

Sanjay Dutt, 45, was given special permission by a court in Mumbai, India, to travel to Calgary to film the movie Dus, according to the Vancouver-based Asian Pacific Post and other news agencies in India.

Dutt would also have required special permission from Canada's immigration minister to enter the country because of the charges against him.

"It's essentially special permission," said Maria Iadinardi, spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, who did not speak specifically about Dutt's case.

"The minister has to look at it on a case-by-case basis."

Dutt was arrested as a suspect after bombings in 1992 and 1993 on skyscrapers, hotels and office buildings in India's financial capital of Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay.

The bomb blasts killed more than 200 people and injured hundreds more.

Dutt was found with weapons and ammunition alleged to have been supplied by gangsters suspected of plotting the explosions, one of India's worst acts of terrorism.

The actor has consistently denied any connection with the bomb plot. He has said he was holding weapons because his family had been threatened by Hindu radicals following religious rioting in 1993.

A trial started in 1994 for 193 people charged, including Dutt, who was jailed for nearly 18 months before being released on bail in 1995.

The trial, which has examined almost 700 witnesses, has continued for years.

"He's the superstar of the Indian movie industry," said Raj Shah, a local producer who's working on the film.

Shah denied Dutt is facing weapons charges in India. He said "these things were dropped. He has been doing films and there are no problems anymore."

A spokesperson for Calgary's film industry was surprised to learn of the star's alleged background.

"It would be surprising with something like that on his record that he would be granted a permit to come into the country," suggested Beth Thompson, manager of film development and attraction for the Calgary Film Commission.

Dus, which means ten, is directed by Anubhav Sinha, who has made two other Bollywood movies in Calgary.

Filming is expected to wrap by the end of August, said Shah.