There was high drama in Mumbai last night as actor Saif Ali Khan was arrested and then released on bail for allegedly assaulting a man named Iqbal Sharma at Wasabi, the uber-fancy restaurant at the Taj hotel in Colaba. Saif said that he acted in self defence and that he was attacked first. Here are top 10 developments in the case;
1) The actor filed a counter complaint with the Mumbai police last night against Mr Sharma, who claims that the actor assaulted him and fractured his nose in a fight on Tuesday night. In his complaint, Saif has alleged that Mr Sharma's father-in-law punched him first and that the duo abused the women who were accompanying him at the restaurant.
2) Saif was dining with girlfriend and co-actor Kareena Kapoor and other Bollywood friends Kareena's sister Karisma Kapoor; actor Amrita Arora and her husband, Shakeel Ladak; and Bilal Amrohi, a producer.
3) In his complaint, the actor has alleged that his eye got swollen after he was punched and that Bilal Amrohi and Shakeel Ladak too have got bruises on their chest.
4) Saif's lawyer Mohan Jayakar said "Saif was provoked after women at the table were abused. Filthy language was used by Mr Sharma."
5) Police say they will study Saif's application and then decide if it's a cognizable offence. So far, they insist, they haven't given a clean chit to either the actor or Mr Sharma. "We are studying the restaurant's CCTV footage. The security cameras at the staircase of the restaurant where the incident occurred did not capture the fight," a senior police official said, adding that statements of actresses Kareena Kapoor and Amrita Arora will now be recorded.
6) At around 7:50 pm on Wednesday, Saif was arrested by the police at his lawyer's office based on a complaint by Mr Sharma. Girlfriend and co-star Kareena Kapoor accompanied him. Around 90 minutes later, he left the Colaba police station after having paid Rs. 15,000 and being granted bail.
7) Giving his side of the story, Saif said Mr Sharma was rude to the women at his table and when Saif intervened, Mr Sharma threw the first punch.
8) In a press statement released just after he got bail, Saif said, "I don't think any gentleman would have behaved differently. The CCTV footage in the restaurant will prove everything."
9) In his version of events, Mr Sharma says he sent a note to Saif's table, asking his group to talk a little softer. "They were making a lot of noise. And we asked the management to ask them to be quiet so that we could also enjoy our evening. This failed on about three occasions at least." Mr Sharma says his family and he decided to leave the restaurant; on their way out, they ran into Saif who had left Wasabi and was on his way back in. At this point, Mr Sharma says, Saif struck.