Off Andheri-Versova link road, the quiet surroundings of Jagdish Sodha’s two-bedroom office present a contrast to the bookie scandal he is stirring from Kenya to Sri Lanka. With a poster of the latest movie he has financed, Ab Bas, hanging above his head, Sodha tries to prove he is as clean as the starched white shirt he is wearing.‘‘I have no time from my daily work. This (Ab Bas) is taking up most of it.’’ To qualify his point, Sodha immediately takes a notepad and draws a ‘‘normal schedule’’ for a bookie. ‘‘Suppose a match starts at 9 am, he may get into office by 8.30 am. And then work till 7 pm. Where does that leave time for anything else. Do you still think I would be able to make movies, plays and hold events as well?’’Getting agitated, Sodha tries to explain that despite two running matches — the England-West Indies Test and a India ‘A’-Pakistan ‘A’ match — he is still ‘‘very free’’.Sodha (45) claims he is a film financier, real estate agent, event manager all rolled into one. ‘‘A normal bookie has 25 phone lines, but here you see I have just four. Have I received any phone call even when these matches are going on?’’While the interview is on, Sodha takes time off to talk to his elder son. Siddharth (20) left to study electronics engineering in Iowa, Chicago on Thursday night.Among his many friends are London-based businessman Sanjeev Chawla, sports promoter-turned-actor Aushim Khetrapal as well as actor Kishen Kumar. These were three names which cropped up frequently when the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal broke in 2000. ‘‘Sanjeev is one of the many friends I have in London. He is close to Kishen who has worked with me as well. If I am friends with either of them, how does it matter? Aushim too is into movies now and I have relations with him too.’’After former joint commissioner of police (Crime) Dr Satyapal Singh’s revelation of having ‘‘kept a watch on Sodha’’, the man says that he is hurt. ‘‘I still cannot believe doctor saab (Satyapal Singh) said this. I have known him since his days as a Additional CP in Bandra about eight years back. He used to be chief guest at my Navratri celebrations (organised by Prerana, his event management arm).’’
