New Delhi: He could have had a perfect start in his career had he not witnessed one of the most shocking murders that the country ever witnessed. Model turned actor Shayan Munshi was the only one who had seen the perpetrators who killed model Jessica Lal on April 1999. But instead of helping the police in nabbing the killers, he succumbed to pressure and drew major flak for his conduct during the trial of the case.
Born in Kolkata, Shayan studied in the prestigious Don Bosco school in Kolkata and belongs to a family of doctors. Shayan was studying in Delhi and working as a part time model when the incident took place. On that fateful night, Shayan along with Jessica Lal, was bartending at socialite Bina Ramani's private party at Tamarind Court in Delhi when politician Vinod Sharma's son Manu along with his friends walked in at around 2 am and demanded for a drink.
When the altercation occurred between Sharma and Lal, Munshi was the only witness around. When Lal was shot and Manu and his friends ran out, it was Shayan who rushed outside screaming "Someone has shot Jessica". Yet when the trial on the case began, Munshi turned hostile stating that he did not understand Hindi, the language that was used to file the initial FIR by the Delhi Police. Munshi had also stated that Manu Sharma was identified by the cops and not by him.
When the accused were acquitted in 2006 due to lack of evidence, Munshi along with 18 other witnesses were declared as 'hostile' by the court.
While the trial on the case was on, Shayan made his debut in films in Sujoy Ghosh's 'Jhankar Beats' in 2003. The film was an average hit at the Box Office but failed to work wonders for Munshi's career. Munshi later appeared in films like 'Ahista Ahista', 'My Brother Nikhil' and 'Home Delivery'- all of which were cameo roles. Munshi also played the lead in Bengali actor-filmmaker Anjan Dutta's crossover film 'Bong Connection' in 2006. Munshi was also briefly married to VJ turned actress Piya Rai Choudhary. The couple got divorced later.
Ironically, in spite of being part of two very memorable films, Munshi is till date, best remembered for being the witness who went hostile and even tried to confuse the investigators on the Jessica Lal case. Munshi was responsible in introducing the 'two guns' theory while the case was being investigated which also delayed the entire trial.
When in 2006, Manu Sharma and the other accused walked out of court free of charges, more than than him, Munshi and the Indian judiciary drew criticism for succumbing to the might of the influential few in the society. Post the acquittal; a news magazine conducted a sting operation where two journalists posed as casting agents of a big Hollywood project and approached Munshi.
During the course of the conversation, which was taped through a hidden camera, Munshi was asked to speak in Hindi so that the 'agents' could test his fluency in the language. Munshi not only conversed in fluent Hindi but also admitted that he could read and write in that language- something that he had denied during the course of the investigation.
Having failed to make a mark in Bollywood, Munshi did some crossover Bengali films. He was last seen in a film called 'Baansiwala' in 2010.
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