Hapless fan who travelled to India to meet Bollywood actress has been trapped in jail for 21 YEARS... because he can't prove where he's from

By Manjeet Sehgal


When he watched Bollywood actress Pooja Bhatt light up the screen, Abdul Sharif fell head over heels in love.

In a desperate - and ill-fated  - quest, he set off for India in the forlorn hope of meeting her.

That was in 1992, when Bhatt was one of the hottest Bollywood actresses of the 90s, and Sharif was aged just 21.

Now aged 42, he could never have imagined that his journey - which he made without documents - would lead to two decades in jail.

Film actress Pooja Bhatt was one of the hottest Bollywood stars of the 90s
Abdul Sharif has spent 21 years in jail after travelling to India to pursue Pooja Bhatt - but without the necessary papers

Paying the price for love: Abdul Sharif (right) has spent 21 years in jail after he came to India in pursuit of actress Pooja Bhatt. Sharif, now 42, was jailed because he had no travel documents, then lost his memory - so where he comes from is now a mystery

Love proves expensive

Sharif, who was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, has been languishing in Indian jails for around 21 years since he doesn't have any papers to prove his nationality.

Sharif was arrested while he was crossing over to India via Wagah Border in 1992.

'Sharif's jail term ended in 1994. He has lost his memory. At times he claims he hails from Iran and at times, Pakistan. We have already contacted the missions of the two countries but nobody owned up to him,' said Amrik Singh, superintendent of Amritsar Central Jail, where Sharif is currently lodged.

Sharif remembers only two names - Gulam Mohammad, his father, and Pooja Bhatt - and even professes his undying love for the actress by flaunting a tattoo of her name on his left arm.

He has also prepared some dialogues which speak volumes about his love and devotion for Bhatt.

'He still wants to meet Bhatt and is keen to do a film with her,' said the jail's deputy superintendent R.K. Sharma.

Sharif is very popular with the jail staff and other prisoners.

Amritsar Central Jail authorities said Sharif spent some years in two other Punjab jails before being shifted to Amritsar jail on July 18, 1997.