Rajkumar Gupta Who Made A Film On Jessica Lal Speaks On Her Sister Forgiving The Killer

On Monday morning the nation woke up to the startling report that Jessica Lal’s murderer Manu Sharma has been “forgiven”  by the slain woman’s sister Sabrina Lal.

 In  1999, Manu Sharma had shot Jessica dead when she had refused to serve him a drink late  in the  night.In 2011 Rajkumar Gupta made a film No  One Killed Jessica on the incident.

After  Jessica Lal’s  “forgiveness” on Monday morning I spoke to Rajkumar Gupta about the entire episoide its unexpected aftermath on Monday.

Says  Gupta, “Forgiveness is such a commodious and subjective emotion. I think it takes an exemplary amount of compassion to finally forgive someone who has committed a family-destroying crime.We must respect Sabrina Lal ’s sentiments. We  cannot be judgmental because no one knows what the  family has gone through  in  the last  19 years since the crime happened.”

 Before shooting No  One Killed Jessica Gupta spent considerable time with the Lal family to understand their feelings about the tragic death of their daughter.

Gupta saw the suffering first-hand. “Am I surprised by Sabrina’s forgiveness? I’d like to keep my own thoughts and opinion out of this. When I  made  the film I was told by the family that it was a cathartic experience  for them. Now  so many years later  if Sabrina –who we believe has spoken on the family’s behalf—is at peace with the wrong done  to the family, then we must all applaud her  for her largeheartedness.”

Crime  against women has increased manifold since the time  Jessica Lal was slain for a  glass of wine.

It’s a brutal world and  Rajkumar Gupta  is  not sure how he would have visualized  No One Killed Jessica were he to make it now. “The crimes  against women and children are so harsh  brutal and barbaric  that we need  serious detriments. As far as  Manu Sharma is concerned , we have to remember he has spent close to 15 years in  jail. Apparently he has done  a  lot of community service.And like I said , forgiveness is purely subjective.  If  Jessica has forgiven him we should also move on and ensure that no Jessica Lal is killed  in future.”

Rajkumar feels cinema  must play a very large  role in  making people aware  of  wrong done in society. “My films  will always have a social relevance. Otherwise what  is the point of  making films? For me speaking about Jessica Lal through cinema was vital at  that time when I  made   the film. That  such crimes have  only increased  with time is  a matter that should worry all  of us.”