Check out Sooraj Pancholi’s acting resume after his acquittal in the Jiah Khan case
Jiah Khan case
After almost a decade, on Friday, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mumbai cleared actor Sooraj Pancholi of all charges related to Jiah Khan’s death.
Sooraj remarked, “The verdict has taken 10 long painful years and sleepless nights, but today I have not only won this case against me but also won my dignity and confidence back.” To go public with such vile accusations required a great deal of bravery. I wish to God that no other young person has to go through what I have at such a little age. No one can give me those 10 years back, but I’m relieved that this ordeal is over, not just for myself but for my loved ones as well. Nothing matters more than achieving global peace.
On June 3, 2013, the body of Jiah Khan was discovered in her suburban house.
The Mumbai Police Department booked Suraj Pancholi under section 306 (abatement to suicide) and arrested him on June 10 after seizing a letter supposedly written by Jiah, 25.
Supposedly, Sooraj dated Jiah, the daughter of actors Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab.
Rabia Khan, Jiah’s mother, said her daughter was killed.
Rabia, saying that her daughter had been murdered, petitioned the Bombay High Court for a CBI investigation into the case in October 2013.
In July of 2014, the CBI took over the investigation from the Maharashtra Police in response to an order from the Bombay High Court.
Rabia said that her relationship with Sooraj Pancholi was abusive to her daughter.
The CBI filed a report with the court in December 2015, labelling the incident a “abettment to suicide.” A few days later, Rabia requested a SIT to do further investigation into the situation.
The High Court ruled against establishing the SIT in February 2017.
In 2018, the trial court also denied Rabia’s request for more inquiry.
The trial for the Jiah Khan case started on March 15, 2019.
The sessions court in 2021 remanded the case to the Special CBI Court after ruling that it did not have jurisdiction over the CBI case.
After 21 government witnesses testified, the prosecution rested its case on March 21, 2023.
Both parties presented their closing arguments on April 20, 2023, and the court set the verdict announcement date for April 28.
Judge AS Sayyed of the Special CBI court said Friday, “Due to paucity of evidence, this court can’t hold you (Sooraj Pancholi) guilty, hence acquitted.”
The ‘Hero’ star returned home from court to be met by the media and thanked the paparazzi outside his Mumbai home.
His housekeeping crew afterwards fed the photographers candy.
Sooraj responded to the court’s decision to exonerate him by posting a message to Instagram: “The Truth Always Wins! #GodIsGreat.”
In 2015, Sooraj starred alongside Athiya Shetty in the Bollywood hit action romance Hero.
Nikkhil Advand directed the Salman Khan-produced picture, which also featured Tigmasnhu Dhulia, Sharad Kelkar, Aditya Pancholi, and Vivian Bhatena.
At the box office, the film underwhelmed.
The 1983 Jackie Shroff-starring musical drama ‘Hero’ by acclaimed director Subhash Ghai was remade in Hindi with the same name.
Sooraj then appeared in the 2019 drama film ‘Satellite Shankar,’ in which he played the part of an Indian army officer.
The film, which was directed by Irfan Kamal and starring Megha Akash, bombed at the box office despite receiving largely excellent reviews.
In 2021, after trying his hand at some challenging parts, Sooraj made “Time to Dance,” a film about ballroom dancing.
Isabelle Kaif, sister of Bollywood star Katrina Kaif, made her acting debut in this film.
Another major flop in Sooraj’s filmography, directed by Stanley D’costa.
The 2020 film Hawa Singh, directed by Sooraj, will be based on the life of the great Indian boxer Hawa Singh.
The film’s first look poster was unveiled by actor Salman Khan on his Twitter account, with the tagline “Hawa se baatein karega singh… #HawaSinghBiopic.”
Hawa Singh, winner of the Arjuna and the Dronacharya awards, dominated his weight class in Indian and Asian boxing for a decade.
Prakash Nambiar, who is directing the biopic, has not yet released any new information.
He has also made appearances in music videos (‘GF BF’ and ‘Dim Dim Light’).
Jiah Khan, on the other hand, only appeared in three films over her whole career, yet they were all box office smashes.
Her first film was the Ram Gopal Varma-directed drama Nishabd, in which she co-starred with Amitabh Bachchan. Her work in the film garnered her a lot of praise.
After that, she appeared in the critically acclaimed film ‘Ghajini’ alongside star Aamir Khan.
Finally, she made an appearance in the ‘Housefull’ romantic comedy starring Akshay Kumar and Riteish Deshmukh.
