Introduction

Born to the legends of Indian cinema Sunil Dutt and Nargis, Sanjay Balraj Dutt is a megastar of the  Bollywood industry. Apart from being a versatile actor who has proved his mettle from time to time, Sanjay Dutt is also a film producer. With a career span of 38 years, Sanjay Dutt has worked in more than 150 movies, debuting with the movie Rocky, directed by his father Sunil Dutt in the year 1981.

Early Life

Sanjay Dutt is a legendary actor of the  Indian film industry, Sunil Dutt and Nargis. Namrata Dutt (1962) and Priya Dutt (1966) are Sanjay Dutt’s siblings. He attended The Lawrence School, Sanawar (near Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh).

Though he began his career with Rocky in the year 1981, he also briefly appeared as a qawwali singer in Sunil Dutt starrer, Reshma Aur Shera in 1972, as a child artist. A few days before the premiere of Sanjay Dutt’s debut film, Rocky, his mother Nargis died of pancreatic cancer, which left him in anguish for a long time and pushed him towards drug abuse.

Personal Life

Sanjay Dutt was married to Indian actress Richa Sharma in 1987 who died of a brain tumor in 1996. He has a daughter from that marriage, Trishala (1998). He then married Rhea Pillai in 1998 and divorced in 2008. In that year, Sanjay Dutt married Manyata after 2 years of dating. The couple has 2 children born in 2010, Iqra and Shahraan.

Sanjay Dutt, 1993 was arrested under the provisions of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), accused of his involvement in serial bombings in Mumbai in 1993. But, was later granted bail in May 1993, which was later canceled and Sanjay Dutt was re-arrested. In October 1995, he was granted bail.

In July 2007, Sanjay Dutt was sentenced by the TADA court to six years of imprisonment under the Arms Act for illegal possession of weapons. Putting a rest to his in and out the journey of jail, Supreme Court, in November 2007, granted Sanjay Dutt bail. And on 21st March 2013, SC shortened his sentence to 5 years of imprisonment, of which he had spent 18 months during the trial. Sanjay Dutt was released from Yerwada Central Jail on 25th February 2016 after serving his sentence.

Career

Sanjay Dutt stepped into the movie industry in 1972, as a child artist in the movie Reshma Aur Shera, as a qawwali singer, which saw his father Sunil Dutt in the lead role. Rocky in the year 1981, directed by Sunil Dutt marked the debut of a rising star Sanjay Dutt, which went on to become the 10th highest-grossing movie of that year.

Filmography

His movie Vidhata (1982) was a commercial success, turning out to be the highest-grossing movie of 1982. He was next seen playing the lead role in Main Awara Hoon in 1983, after which he took a break of two years and came back with Jaan Ki Baazi in 1985.

The turning point of Sanjay Dutt’s Career was Naam, released in 1986, which was not only a commercially successful film but also won him applause from the critics. Converting the success of Naam to his advantage, he went on to give successful and appreciable performances in films throughout the ’80s like Jeete Hain Shaan Se, Imaandaar, Inaam Dus Hazaar, Kabzaa, Mardon Wali Baat (1988), Ilaaka, Hum Bhi Insaan Hain, Kanoon Apna Apna, Hathyar (1989).

After giving critically acclaimed performances in ’80s, Sanjay Dutt planned to leave a mark in ’90s as well. Winning hearts with Sadak (1991), he went on to star in Saajan in the same year, proving his versatility. Which not only became the highest-grossing film of 1991 but also earned Sanjay Dutt, his first Filmfare best actor nomination. He gave another breathtaking performance in Khalnayak in 1993, which earned him his 2nd best actor nomination for Filmfare and became the second highest-grossing film of 1993. Followed to which, came another success of his, Gumrah.

Though Sanjay Dutt had made a comeback after his arrest in 1993, with Daud(1997) and Dushman(1998) his true comeback was in the year 1999, which was considered the most successful year of his career. Beginning the year with Kartoos, he starred in Khoobsurat, Haseena Maan Jaayegi, Daag: The fire, and Vaastav: The reality, which earned him his first Filmfare best actor award along with many other awards and critical acclaim. With some other critically acclaimed and commercially successful movies such as Mission Kashmir, Jodi No. 1, and Kaante, then came Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. which was a national award-winning film and earned him several awards. Success for Sanjay Dutt did not stop here, going on to give memorable performances in movies and still continues to entertain us.