Bollywood shocked by Shiney Ahuja's rape charges, stand by him

"It was like a body blow, a sense of deep shame because of the disconnect. Shiney that I interacted with was charming, decent guy who would come home and wine and dine with us. He was somebody you could take and meet the most respected people who came to your homes. I am not an entertaining man and do not generally invite people home, but Shiney is one of the few who has not only come home with his wife but who charmed my entire family. He was courteous, dignified and proper. But when it (the news of rape) comes to us via newspapers and television networks, it was nothing short of a shock," said film producer Mahesh Bhatt, whose critically and commercially successful Gangster (2006) helped Ahuja get a strong footing in Bollywood.

Bhatt has also condemned the media frenzy over the incident, saying they should restrain from pre-judging the actor as "we are just in the very first stage of trial."

"It (the trial) has not even begun. The police are still investigating and there are already voices in Bollywood saying that he was trapped. There is a counterpoint assuming that he was trapped, then who ever set out to trap him has succeeded in trapping because that's what the medical reports say," he said.

Bhatt also felt strange that though some police officers said that Ahuja vehemently claimed that they had consensual sex, they decided to go ahead and accept the maid's version i.e. she was raped. However, Bhatt said he has faith in the legal process and "if he (Ahuja) is found guilty of rape, we have to condemn him."

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