Sanjay Dutt is probably the only actor in Bollywood who is loved as well as hated at the same time. The actor who turned villain in the eyes of people after the 1993 blasts has now reached a point in his acreer where he is admired by both fans and film industry.
It was his late father who stood like a rock behind Sanjay Dutt when his name cropped in the blasts investigation as the one who received some weapons from the consignment brought to the city by the terrorists ahead of the blasts which killed more than 250 people. He also brought him out from his doping habits in the early 80s and did everything possible to get his son released on bail after his arrest under Tada in 1993.
Ever since Tada Court Judge P D Kode began pronouncing his verdict in the case, Sanjay had confessed to the media and friends that he could not concentrate on his work as he was ``nervous`` but would accept the judgment with a ``bowed head`` and was prepared for the worst.
The 47 year old Dutt who starred in "Lage Raho Munnabhai", one of the year 2006`s biggest hits which resurrected Mahatma Gandhi`s ideals in the popular mind through "Gandhigiri" faces charges of possessing an AK-56 rifle and destroying evidence.
Fondly called Sanju Baba by friends and fans, the charismatic actor who is the only son of legendary actors late Nargis and Sunil Dutt made his debut in his father`s production `Rocky` in 1981 which was a great success.
Sanjay, a spoilt brat, took heavily to drugs and it was his father who resurrected his life after a lot of hardships.
Despite his ups and down in personal life, Sanjay managed to retain his star position over the last two decades.
He has been into controversy for his drug addiction, alleged affairs with co-stars, marriage to actress Richa Sharma and her diagnosis of cancer followed by her death, involvement with the underworld since his arrest for possessing weapons during the 1993 Mumbai riots which were allegedly from the consignment brought to the city by terrorists for carrying out the serial bomb blasts.
But, he is one of the few persons to whom life has given more than one chance and he has utilised it to bounce back with the able support of his late father.
The big question is whether he will be able to bounce back again this time.
Rising like a phoenix is not new for Sanjay. After `Rocky` and Subhash Ghai`s `Vidhata,` Sanjay bounced back with a vengeance in Mahesh Bhat`s `Naam` and went on to act in some successful films like `Sajan`, `Vaastav`, `Haseena Man Jayegi`, `Munnabhai MBBS` which was followed by hugely successful ``Lage Raho Munnabhai`` this year. Apart from action films, he also tried his hand at comedy with `Haseena Man Jayegi`, `Jodi No 1` with Govinda, `Chal Mere Bhai` with Salman, playing father to Hrithik Roshan in `Mission Kashmir` and second fiddle to Saif Ali Khan in ``Parineeta`` before being immortalised as `Munnabhai`. In a period of 20 years in Bollywood, he acted in about 60 movies.
Born on July 29,1959, Sanjay was accustomed to live away from his teenaged daughter Trishala who stays with her maternal grandparents in the US after her mother`s death. Sanjay married model Rhea Pillai after his release from jail on bail in 1994 only to be separated a few years later.
Both Sanjay and his father were not able to savour the success of their first film `Rocky` as Nargis died after losing a grim battle with cancer.
The illness and tragic death of his mother on the eve of the film`s release virtually devastated the actor.
Sanjay was at the first crossroads of his life.
A topsy-turvy fast life of partying, drugs and booze followed due to which his fled gung career as an actor suffered. After `Rocky` despite having another super hit movie like Subhash Ghai directed `Vidhata` in 1982, Sanjay was on the path of self destruction.
It was then his father stepped in to provide the emotional support and after a complete rehabilitation programme, Sanjay returned to acting with a bang in Mahesh Bhatt`s 1986 starrer `Naam`. His career graph just took off and he quickly re-established himself as the great hope of the Hindi film industry.
The peak of his success came in 1991 with `Saajan` directed by Lawrence D`souza and `Sadak` directed by Mahesh Bhatt, which were huge successes and catapulted the actor in the league of superstars.
On the personal front too, things were falling in place with his romance and eventual marriage to the promising actress Richa Sharma and the birth of his daughter Trishala things had never seemed better for him.
However, tragedy struck again. Richa died young with cancer striking again. To overcome this tragedy, Sanjay continued to concentrate on his professional delivering hits like `Khalnayak` in 1994 which was directed by Subhash Ghai. But trouble was just waiting to strike again when he was implicated in the Mumbai bomb blasts case.
Sanjay Dutt who was shooting in Mauritius for `Khalnayak` returned to Mumbai to explain his stand, but was arrested on his arrival at the airport. He spent 18 months in jail and survived the ordeal because of the support of his family especially his father.
After his release on bail, Sanjay overcame this latest personal turmoil, to emerge triumphant professionally again. Despite the lacklustre box-office performances of some of his post-jail releases like Ramgopal Varma`s 1997 film `Daud,` all others got a good opening at the box office. The highlight being `Vastav` in 1999 and light hearted comedy `Khubsoorat` in which Sanjay made another comeback as a star actor.
Sanjay`s sensitive portrayal of a underworld don in Mahesh Manjrekar`s Vaastav` earned him the Best Actor Award from Zee, Filmfare and Screen in 1999 perhaps for the first time in his career.
The six footer star has about five underproduction films like `Shootout at Lokhandwala,` `Dhamal,` `Eklavya` and has about Rs 100 crore riding on him. He set up the white feather films banner along with friend producer Sanjay Gupta and produced films like `Kaante,` `Plan,` `Musafir,` `Zinda` among others. At present, he is producing films like `Dus Kahaniya,` `Chamki Chameli,` `Alibaug` with Sanjay Gupta.
Industry friends describe Sanjay as a soft hearted emotional fool who was at the wrong place at the wrong time and have always refused to believe that he was involved in any conspiracy in the serial bomb blasts of Mumbai in 1993.
Bureau Report
