Chrisann Pereira, interrupted: How a jail stint continues to hold actor captive

The 27-year-old spent three weeks in a Sharjah prison before being granted bail on April 26 and finally returning to India in August. Speaking to The Indian Express in an exclusive interview from her home in Mumbai, Pereira bursts into laughter as she recalls the trophy her friends handed her as an “inside joke”. “It was done in jest…I told them, ‘guys this is too recent to joke’,” she says.

While things have seemingly returned to normal, she says her life as she knew it has changed forever. “The first thing I did after returning home was to Google for bodyguards. For someone who travelled alone to Sharjah, I am now scared to even go to the next lane,” says Chrisann.

Her 26-day stint in Sharjah jail had seen her wash her hair “with a laundry detergent” and make coffee “using water from the bathroom”. Watching Bollywood movies in jail, she had said in an earlier interview, had brought “tears in my eyes knowing (that) my ambition brought me here”.

Chrisann, who has played supporting roles in Hindi films such as Sadak 2 and Batla House, adds, “Before Sharjah, I would try to control everything around me. But this incident has made me realise that anything can happen, no matter how careful one is. I have become more flexible now and more willing to take risks.”

An audition that never was

The Mumbai police had in June filed a chargesheet in the case, providing evidence of how Chrisann was allegedly framed by 35-year-old Anthony Paul, a Borivali-based bakery owner, and two others.

An officer with Unit X of the Crime Branch said, “The chargesheet has been filed and the trial should begin soon.”

However, the actor was not Paul’s first or only victim.

The officer said, “Paul wanted revenge on five people over various reasons — a break-up, jealousy, work-related issues and a fight over Covid-19 restrictions. He roped in his friend Rajesh Borate to play various roles in order to frame his victims. Borate provided the drugs he used to frame his victims. Though three of his victims escaped, he managed to frame Chrisann and (Mumbai-based DJ Clayton) Rodrigues successfully. In fact, Rodrigues is still in a Sharjah prison.”

Anthony Paul, a bakery owner, allegedly hid drugs in trophies and cakes in an attempt to frame five victims as revenge. (Image: Special Arrangement)

According to the police, on March 23, Pereira’s mother Pramila received a message from someone who claimed to help her daughter get good roles. Pereira then spoke to the person who identified himself as Ravi and claimed to have a talent management company. He reportedly said Pereira would have to attend an audition in Sharjah for a web series.

A day before she was to leave on April 1, Ravi allegedly met Pereira in a hotel and gave her a memento to hand over to someone in Sharjah. He said that a person would receive her at Sharjah airport and that hotel rooms had been booked.

However, on April 1, when Pereira reached the Sharjah airport, there was no one to receive her and neither were any hotel bookings made. Police said Pereira called her father and they realised that she had been duped. The Sharjah Police, who found ganja and opium hidden inside the trophy, later arrested Pereira.

Mumbai-based DJ Clayton Rodrigues, who was also allegedly framed by main accused Anthony Paul, is still in a Sharjah prison. (Image: Special Arrangement)

Back in Mumbai, the family lodged a complaint and eventually, the Mumbai Crime Branch registered an FIR at the Vakola police station. Their investigation led them to Anthony Paul, a bakery owner whose sister lived in the same building as the Pereiras. Paul, police said, allegedly had a fight with Pereira’s mother Pramila twice, one during Covid over wearing a mask and the second time over her dog barking.

Paul and Borate were arrested in April by the Mumbai Crime Branch. Paul’s bail hearing is underway in a special NDPS court in Mumbai.

Arrest and after

Speaking to The Indian Express, Chrisann recalls, “I realised in Sharjah that I had been conned. So I booked a flight back to India. I assumed naively that the seven-hour gap between the booking and my flight was enough time to approach the police to tell them about the trophy. I was worried that it had a bomb. I did not know how to get rid of it without ensuring that no one was harmed if it did contain a bomb. That it would be packed with drugs just didn’t cross my mind.”

The actor says the jail stint affected her mental health. “I had to see a therapist. Flying back to India from Sharjah was a challenge because I felt uncomfortable in large crowds. Going out was a task. I had a hard time connecting with my friends. I could not jump back to work and give auditions,” she says.

The trophy packed with drugs that the accused allegedly gave to actor Chrisann Pereira on the pretext of taking it to Sharjah for an “audition”. (Photo: Chrisann Pereira )

“I recently attended my first dance workshop since the incident. I was so scared and anxious that I got a fever. Putting myself out there feels draining. It will take some time, but I am not in any rush,” she adds.

Being among family and friends, Pereira says, has helped. “To feel good, I just need some food cooked by my mother and to be in the area where I grew up,” she says, adding that it “will take time for everyone involved” to recover from the trauma of the last few months.

“The other day, we were watching Stranger Things (an OTT series). There was a scene where the mother is trying to get her child back. That scene stayed with my parents and kept them up all night,” she says.

Pereira says “routine stuff” keeps her occupied. “Like getting my clothes from the laundry… some of which I gave before I left for Sharjah. I also received several calls, but was not in the right frame of mind to talk. So I told most people that I need more time.”

She hasn’t got back to work yet. “I have mostly been sleeping at home, recovering. This is in contrast to the hyperactive person that I was before.”

She dodges a question on whether she has been approached for a big-screen adaptation of the ordeal she underwent. “No comments,” she says impishly, before adding, “Playing myself in an adaptation would actually be the best way to get over the incident.”

As Chrisann gears up to celebrate her birthday, she says she has a wish — Rodrigues’s freedom. “I am just worried that if Paul gets bail, it will affect Rodrigues’s case negatively.”

And a nightmare. “I am scared at the thought of Paul being released on bail… him being out and about. His sister lives in my building,” she says.