A day after Mumbai filmmaker Rohit Arya was shot dead by police following a tense hostage crisis, city-based actor Ruchita Vijay Jadhav revealed a disturbing twist, Arya contacted her days before the tragedy, inviting her to discuss a film project about a hostage situation.
In a long post on Instagram, Jadhav stated Arya contacted her, and asked her to meet to discuss a “film project”. This was on October 23. The ‘project’ was a film about a hostage situation.
“I Feel Grateful to Be Alive”
Jadhav shared that Arya first contacted her on October 4, later asking to meet between October 27 and 29 at his Powai studio. She agreed to meet on October 28, but canceled at the last minute due to a family commitment, a decision she now believes may have saved her life.
“When I saw the terrifying incident in the news involving this same person, I felt a chill. I can’t stop thinking about how close I came to being there,” she wrote.
“I truly believe someone up there was protecting me. We must all be extremely careful when meeting new people for work, no matter how normal things appear.”
Hostage Drama In Powai
On Thursday afternoon, Arya allegedly locked 19 people, including 17 children, inside his studio, claiming they were his hostages. The victims reportedly been lured there under the pretext of an audition.
Arya then posted a video message, calling his demands “simple, moral, and ethical.” He claimed the Maharashtra government owed him ₹2.4 crore for leading Project Let’s Change, a sanitation campaign involving lakhs of students.
Later, the Maharashtra government clarified that no dues were pending and that Arya had, in fact, collected unauthorized fees from schools.
Police Intervention
During the standoff, Arya threatened to harm the children. Despite repeated appeals to surrender, a police officer who managed to sneak inside saw Arya aiming a gun at a child and opened fire. Arya was shot in the chest and killed, bringing the hostage crisis to an end.
Later, Arya’s wife Anjali told media that her husband had been fighting for both the ₹2.4 crore he claimed was sanctioned and recognition for his work.
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