Cops hunt man who impersonates Hrithik, Bhansali on internet
The accused created fake email accounts of the two celebs and also chatted with people on social networking sites, inviting aspiring artists for auditions
Nazia Sayed (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 28, 2014)

The Juhu police are on the lookout for a man who has been impersonating filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actor Hrithik Roshan.

The accused has been chatting on social network sites while pretending to be Bhansali, who has given a written complaint to Juhu police. Around a month ago, Hrithik had lodged a similar complaint at the same police station, alleging that someone was impersonating him by creating a fake email ID.

The police suspect that the same person is behind both cases, as the modus operandi is similar. As in the case with Hrithik, the imposter created a fake email ID of Bhansali too, and has shot off mails to many aspiring artists and even invited them for auditions. He has also been reverting to their mails and chatting with them while pretending to be Bhansali.

The matter came to light when an aspirant called Bhansali's PA seeking an appointment. The PA was taken aback as there were no auditions taking place, as Bhansali had already finalised the cast and crew of his forthcoming movie Bajirao Mastani.

The PA immediately got in touch with Bhansali's administration department which handles the film maker's email account, and asked if they had mailed anyone for an audition. When they replied in the negative, he called Bhansali who was at a shoot of Bajirao. The filmmaker was surprised with his PA's queries and immediately reported the matter to the Juhu police.

The cops also suspect that it could be an insider involved, as the imposter has been communicating with people in the same style as the film maker. He is familiar with how Bhansali speaks and with his schedule, and also informs people when he would be shooting and when he would be available for auditioning.

Meanwhile, the Juhu police who have been trying to track the Hrithik Roshan imposter, are also working on the angle that the suspect may have come in contact with the two Bollywood personalities while they were doing a film together. That is how, they believe, he is able to impersonate the two.

A Juhu police officer said, "It appears that the accused wants to harm the reputation of the film maker. Claiming he is Bhansali and is facing a cash crunch, he has been inviting people to finance his new project. We suspect he may have been turned down by Bhansali and Hrithik, and hence is targeting both. We are questioning staff of both the celebs for more information."

Senior Inspector Abhay Shastri refused to divulge details, but said, "Investigations are on and the accused will be nabbed soon."