‘Ghost’ villain enacted abduction drama to buy booze

NEW DELHI: A day after aspiring actor Manish Upadhyay — a villain in the upcoming flick Ghost — was arrested, cops claimed the abduction was the “accused’s desperate attempt to buy a bottle of booze under the influence of alcohol”. Manish was not even carrying a weapon, said cops. “He was already drunk but he wanted more. He didn’t realize that he was committing a grave offence,” said a south district police officer.
Manish’s associates, though, said they had never seen him in this avatar. Manish was drawn to the world of cinema and theatre from an early age. He pursued a course in acting at the Sriram Centre after completing Class 12. He was actively involved in various productions in the city before he moved to Mumbai one-and-and-half years ago. An assistant director’s friend recommended Manish’s name for a small appearance in the film Ghost after he worked in two television serials,” said Puja Jatinder Bedi, the director of the movie.
“He didn’t even have to audition for the role, that of a yogi — a sidekick to the villain with less than five minutes of screen space. He has a few dialogues though,’’ said Bedi, adding she didn’t have much knowledge about the arrest.
Sources said that Manish grew closer to co-accused Mohit Tokas, 28, a national-level boxer, when the duo stayed in Sarojini Nagar before the actor shifted to CRPF Colony in Nagafgarh. “He had a flair for boxing. His friendship with Tokas was only natural,’’ said a source.
The two were reportedly drunk and committed the crime to rob cash for another round of drinks. A brazen Manish told reporters on Sunday that he had ‘enacted’ the abduction to draw inspiration from real life for a script. “The two were drunk and needed money for another drink. They hoped to get a car to drive to Gurgaon and buy liquor. They threatened to kill driver Jogesh Pal and guard Jaiveer while holding them hostage for over an hour. They broke the law for just a bottle of liquor, where is the question of real life experiments?’’ said DCP (south) Chhaya Sharma. She, however, denied rumours about the accused being after the woman employee who was dropped at Munirka.
A confident Manish had brushed aside charges on Sunday that he was “trying to promote himself’’ through his follies. “I am a script writer and I need inspiration,’’ he had said, denying that this was a way to promote his film.