40 minutes agoAuthor: Kiran Jain/Akash Khare
- copy link
Sanjay Dutt is celebrating his 65th birthday today. Sanjay, who has worked in about 180 films in his 43-year long film career, is the son of famous Bollywood stars Sunil Dutt and Nargis.
Like his career, Sanjay's personal life also went through many ups and downs. He got addicted to drugs at a young age. His mother passed away before his debut film.
Then his name came up in the Mumbai bomb blast case and he spent 5 years in jail. At the age of 61, he was diagnosed with fourth stage lung cancer. Fighting all these difficulties, Sanjay is still living his life with a smile.
On Sanjay's birthday, Dainik Bhaskar spoke to three people related to him and found out how he faced these difficulties in his life…
Sanju plays pranks on the sets: Raza Murad, actor
'I worked with Sanjay for the first time in a film called 'Mera Haq'. Apart from this, we also did films like 'Inam 10 Hazar', 'Kanoon Apna Apna', 'Safari' and 'Sarhad Paar'.
Sanju is very funny on the set. He does his work while laughing and playing. Even after facing so much, Sanju never let anyone on the set feel how many ups and downs there are in his life.
Near where we lived was the Manekji Cooper School, where Sanjay used to study as a child. When we went to see a function there, Sanjay Dutt appeared on stage in a fancy dress competition dressed as a Pathan. The movie 'Kabuliwala' had released at that time, so Sanjay copied that look. Sanju was also very fond of guns and hunting, so he often went to Bhopal and Lucknow to hunt.
The whole industry sympathized with Sanjay
We all know that Sanju's name had also cropped up in the Mumbai blasts. However, during that period, people in the industry had sympathy for Sanju. We all knew that whatever Sanju did, he did it out of ignorance. Everyone knew how straightforward and honest Dutt sahab was.
The thing for which I would praise Sanjay is his will power. The way he controlled his drug addiction is really praiseworthy because it is not easy and not everyone can do it. The industry also gave Sanjay a second chance and after making a comeback, Sanjay never looked towards drugs again.
Sanju used to come to our hotel with his mother: Rashid Hakim, Sanjay's friend
'I met Sanjay for the first time in 1986. I have a very family-like relationship with Sanjay. He treats me like his younger brother. He has been coming to our hotel since childhood. His mother used to bring him to our place. He is still fond of our Nihari.
Once I fed him Chicken White Biryani. Then he told me a recipe and on that recipe I started making chicken and selling it in my hotel under the name Chicken Sanju Baba.
Sanjay Dutt cooking chicken at friend Rashid's hotel.
He is a lion. His personality is very strong. Even if I share any incident of my life with him, he motivates me. Many times he shared his jail experience with me. He used to say that he used to suffer a lot there. He used to cook food, work but the most difficult thing was to bear the filth there.
I still remember that the shooting of 'PK' was going on at VT station. He had to go to jail the next day but despite that he was shooting keeping himself mentally strong. When he met us, tears came out of his eyes.
After going to jail, Sanjay became very tough. Actually, life inside is very difficult and that made him very tough.
Sanjay is incomplete without family and workout
Today there are only two things in Sanju's life – family and workout. He has become very close to his family at this stage of his life. He says that he has nothing else in life except his wife and children. And if I talk about workout, then he is incomplete without it.
Sanjay with wife Maanyata, daughter Iqra and son Shahraan.
He remained fully motivated even while battling cancer – Sunil Sharma, fitness trainer
'When I met Sanjay for the first time, I had no words to say to him. He is much older than me but despite that he used to give me full respect. I used to live in Dubai and he was in America at that time. My focus was more on training his children and wife than him.
He is a big foodie and also loves parties but he never had to be rebuked for anything. He never ate anything without the guidance of a doctor. He also takes very good care of himself.
Sanju plays badminton every day
While working with him, I just have to push him a little. Otherwise, he works out according to his own convenience. He focuses more on ENS training. He does a lot of strength training wearing a suit. Apart from this, he plays badminton every day to keep himself fit.'
