Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 100 films, ranging from romance to comedy genres, though usually in action genres, thus proving himself one of the most popular Hindi film actors of the since 1980s. Part of the Dutt family, he is the son of actors Sunil Dutt and

Nargis Nargis Dutt (born Fatima Rashid; 1 June 1929 – 3 May 1981) was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, she made her screen debut in a minor role ...

. Dutt made his acting debut with ''

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burge ...

'' (1981). A career downturn followed, with the exception of the crime thriller '' Naam'' (1986), a milestone in his career. He later established himself as a prolific star with films like '' Saajan'' (1991), ''

Sadak ''Sadak'' () is a 1991 Indian Hindi-language romantic thriller film directed by Mahesh Bhatt. It stars Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt. The film is one of the highest-grossing movies of the year 1991. The film is also fondly remembered for the l ...

'' (1991), ''

Khalnayak ''Khal Nayak'' () is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language action crime film produced and directed by Subhash Ghai. The film's plot centers on the escape and attempted capture of criminal Ballu ( Sanjay Dutt as antihero) by Inspector Ram (Jackie Shrof ...

'' (1993), '' Gumrah'' (1993), '' Aatish'' (1994), '' Andolan'' (1995), '' Daag'' (1999), ''

Haseena Maan Jaayegi ''Haseena Maan Jaayegi'' () is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by David Dhawan. It stars Govinda, Sanjay Dutt, Karisma Kapoor and Pooja Batra, with Anupam Kher, Kader Khan, Aruna Irani, and Paresh Rawal in supporting. The ...

'' (1999) and '' Mission Kashmir'' (2000). His critically acclaimed performance in '' Vaastav'' (1999) won him the

Filmfare Award for Best Actor The Filmfare Award for Best Actor is an award, begun in 1954, presented annually at the Filmfare Awards to an actor via a jury. This is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi (Bollywood) films. The award was first ...

. Dutt gained widespread acclaim for playing Munna Bhai in the ''Munna Bhai'' series (2003–2006), his most iconic role, and his biggest sole commercial success ever. Since 2000, he was cast in notable films like '' Jodi No.1'' (2001), ''

Munna Bhai MBBS ''Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.'' () is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film written and directed by Rajkumar Hirani (in his directorial debut) and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It was the first installment of '' Munna Bhai series''. Release ...

'' (2003), '' Parineeta'' (2005), ''

Dus ''Dus'' () is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Anubhav Sinha, based on the lives of seven fictional SIT (Indian Special Investigation) Team officers. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan, Zayed Kha ...

'' (2005), ''

Lage Raho Munna Bhai ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'' (; ) is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language satirical comedy drama film written, edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, who co-wrote the screenplay with Abhijat Joshi and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It is the follow-up ...

'' (2006), ''

Shootout at Lokhandwala ''Shootout at Lokhandwala'' is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed and co-written by Apoorva Lakhia and co-written and co-produced by Sanjay Gupta, with Ekta Kapoor serving as producer and Suresh Nair serving as writer. ...

'' (2007), '' Dhamaal'' (2007), '' All the Best'' (2009), ''

Double Dhamaal ''Double Dhamaal'' (also known as ''Sequel of Dhamaal'') () is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language comedy film and a sequel to the 2007 hit film ''Dhamaal'', and the second installment of '' Dhamaal film series''. The film is directed and produced by Ind ...

'' (2011), '' Agneepath'' (2012), '' Son of Sardaar'' (2012), and '' PK'' (2014). This was followed by another major career downturn with the exception of Kannada film '' K.G.F: Chapter 2'' (2022), the third highest-grossing Indian film, in which he played the main antagonist. Dutt was arrested under the

TADA Tada or TADA may refer to: Places * Tada, Nellore district, a village in Andhra Pradesh, India * Tada mandal, in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India * Tada Shrine, in Kawanishi, Hyōgo, Japan * Tada Station (disambiguation) *Tada, a Nupe town on the ...

and the Arms Act in April 1993 and was convicted later for violation of Arms Act for possession of illegal weapons procured from other accused in the 1993 Bombay bombings. After serving his sentence, he was released in 2016. Dutt's life receives considerable media coverage in India, and in 2018, ''

Sanju ''Sanju'' is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language biographical film directed and edited by Rajkumar Hirani, written by Hirani and Abhijat Joshi and produced by Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra under the banners Rajkumar Hirani Films and Vinod Chopra Film ...

'', a biopic based on his life (which also saw a special appearance by him), starring

Ranbir Kapoor Ranbir Kapoor (; born 28 September 1982) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi-language films. He is one of the highest-paid actors of Hindi cinema and has featured in ''Forbes India''s Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Kapoor is the re ...

as Dutt, was released to positive reviews and emerged as one of the highest-grossers of Indian cinema.

Early life

Dutt was born in Bombay City, Bombay State, Republic of India into a Punjabi family, to parents who were noted Hindi cinema actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis Dutt. Born to a Punjabi Hindu Mohyal Brahmin father and Muslim mother of Punjabi descent, Dutt's ancestry can be traced back to the Rawalpindi Division of West Punjab. Sanjay has two sisters,

Priya Dutt Priya Dutt Roncon (born 28 August 1966) is an Indian people, Indian politician and social worker. She was elected for the first time to the 14th Lok Sabha from Mumbai North West (Lok Sabha constituency), Mumbai North West constituency in Mahara ...

and Namrata Dutt. Sanjay's name was chosen by crowdsourcing via the

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Shama. His mother died in 1981, shortly before his debut film's premiere; her death is cited as the instigator of his drug abuse. Dutt made his acting debut at an early age, playing a Qawali singer in his father's film ''

Reshma Aur Shera ''Reshma Aur Shera'' ( hi, रेशमा और शेरा; translation: ''Reshma and Shera'') is a 1971 Hindi crime drama film produced and directed by Sunil Dutt and starring Waheeda Rehman as Reshma and Sunil Dutt as Shera. It also stars ...

'' (1971).

Career

Early career and breakthrough (1981–1988)

Dutt made his

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

film debut with the box-office super hit ''

'' in 1981. Dutt then went on to star in ''

Vidhaata Vidhaata ( ''Creator'') is a 1982 Indian action drama film directed by Subhash Ghai and produced by Gulshan Rai under his own production company Trimurti Films. It stars Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Padmini Kolhapure, ...

'', the highest-grossing Hindi film of 1982, along with film veterans

Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from ...

Shammi Kapoor Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced �ʌmːi kʌpuːɾ 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards, winning in the categories of Best Actor for ...

and

Sanjeev Kumar Sanjeev Kumar (born Harihar Jethalal Jariwala; 9 July 1938 – 6 November 1985) was an Indian actor. He is well remembered for his versatility and genuine portrayal of his characters. He acted in genres ranging from romantic dramas to thrille ...

. He also starred in movies like '' Main Awara Hoon'' (1983). In 1985, he shot ''

Jaan Ki Baazi ''Jaan Ki Baazi'' is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Ajay Kashyap, starring Sanjay Dutt, Anita Raj, Anuradha Patel, and Gulshan Grover. The film was remade in Telugu as ''Mr. Hero'' starring Dr. Rajasekhar. Plot Summary ...

'', his first film in two years. The 1986 film '' Naam'' was a turning point in Dutt's career, it was a major critical and commercial success. Dutt appeared in successful films throughout the '80s such as ''Imaandaar'', ''

Inaam Dus Hazaar ''Inaam Dus Hazaar'' is a 1987 Bollywood action comedy film directed by Jyotin Goel. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Meenakshi Sheshadri in lead roles in their only film together. It is inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's classic ''North by Northwest''. The f ...

'', '' Jeete Hain Shaan Se'' (1988), '' Mardon Wali Baat'' (1988), '' Ilaaka'' (1989), '' Hum Bhi Insaan Hain'' (1989), '' Kanoon Apna Apna'' (1989) and '' Taaqatwar.''

Rise to stardom (1989 -1993)

His performances in both '' Kabzaa'' (1988) and J. P. Dutta's '' Hathyar'' (1989) were both well received by critics, although both films only managed average collections at the box office. In the late 1980s, he was seen in a number of multi-starrers alongside leading actors like

Govinda Govinda (), also rendered Govind and Gobind, is an epithet of Vishnu which is also used for his avatars such as Krishna. The name appears as the 187th and the 539th name of Vishnu in '' Vishnu Sahasranama''. The name is also popularly addresse ...

, Mithun,

Dharmendra Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who is known for his work in Hindi films. Known as the first "He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra has w ...

, Jackie Shroff and Sunny Deol. His successes continued in the 1990s, with films that include ''

Tejaa ''Tejaa'' is an Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Ramesh Puri and produced by Mahendra Bohra. It stars Sanjay Dutt and Kimi Katkar in main roles. film was an above average at the box office. Plot Lal Singh, Heeralal Ghosh, and Zor ...

'', '' Khatarnaak'', '' Zahreelay'', '' Thanedaar'', '' Khoon Ka Karz'', ''Yalgaar'', '' Gumrah'', ''

Sahibaan ''Sahibaan'' is a 1993 Indian Hindi Language, Hindi-language Romantic Drama, romantic drama film directed by Ramesh Talwar. It features Rishi Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit in the lead roles. It marked Kapoor's third onscreen collaboration ...

'' and '' Aatish: Feel the Fire''. He went on to star in some of the most era-defining Indian films of the early 1990s such as ''

'', '' Sajan'' (for which he was nominated for the

) and ''

'', for which he earned his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor nomination. ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' wrote that "Dutt's earlier films (like ''Naam'' and ''Sadak'') got him a lot of favourable attention", and "''Saajan'' established Dutt as the conventional soft hero."'' Saajan'' was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 1991, and ''

'' was the fifth highest grosser of 1991. ''

'' became a blockbuster and was the second-highest grosser of 1993. This was followed by another box office success ''Gumrah'', this was Dutt's second consecutive hit of the year.

Arrest due to involvement in 1993 serial bombings, films after arrest (1993–1999)

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

(now Mumbai) suffered a series of serial bombings in 1993. Dutt was among several people associated with Bollywood who were accused of involvement. It was alleged that Dutt accepted delivery of weapons at his house from Abu Salem and co-accused Riyaz Siddiqui, who had also been implicated in relation to the Mumbai blasts. It was claimed that the weapons formed a part of a large consignment of arms connected to the terrorists. Dutt, however, in his confession stated that he took only one Type-56 from the producers of his movie ''Sanam'', for his own family protection. It has also been reported that Sanjay Dutt's father Sunil Dutt's political rivalry caused Sanjay Dutt's conviction. Dutt's first film after his 1993 arrest was '' Daud'' (1997). It did average business at the box office despite getting a lot of publicity. This was followed by '' Dushman'' which did well financially.

Comeback (1999–2003)

1999 was an excellent year for Dutt and one that is regarded as his comeback, with all of his five releases being amongst the highest-grossing films of that year. He began it by starring in the Mahesh Bhatt-directed film '' Kartoos'', followed by '' Khoobsurat'', ''

'', '' Daag: The Fire'' and '' Vaastav: The Reality'', for which he won many awards, including his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor. His role in 2000's '' Mission Kashmir'' won him critical acclaim and a number of awards and nominations. Dutt was also invited by the President of India to

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

for his performance in the film.

Breakthrough with Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., prolonged success (2003 – present)

As the decade went on, he continued to play lead roles in critical and commercial successes such as '' Jodi No.1'' (2001), '' Pitaah'' (2002), '' Kaante'' (2002) and the National Award-winning film '' Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.'' (2003), which garnered him several awards. At the box office, ''Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.'' achieved a silver jubilee status (25-week run) being one of only eight films to have achieved this status since the year 2000. In its 26th week of release, the film could still be found playing on 257 screens throughout India. Later successes came with '' Musafir'' (2004), ''

Plan A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. ...

'' (2004), '' Parineeta'' (2005) and ''

'' (2005). He also won critical acclaim for his performances in '' Shabd'' (2005) and '' Zinda''. The sequel of ''Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.'', ''

'' was released on 1 September 2006, for which Dutt received a number of awards, along with an award from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his work in the ''Munna Bhai'' series.

NDTV India NDTV India (styled as NDTV इंडिया) is a Hindi news channel in India owned by New Delhi Television Limited. In June 2016, NDTV decided to launch two separate channels called NDTV India and NDTV Spice in the United Kingdom. History ...

counted the character '' Munna Bhai'' as one of top 20 fictional characters in Bollywood. Later Dutt starred in movies like '' Dhamaal'' (2007), ''

'' (2007), '' All the Best'' (2009), ''

'' (2011), '' Son of Sardaar'' (2012) '' Agneepath'' (2012) and '' PK''. In January 2008, the Indian film Institute Filmfare listed 12 films featuring Dutt in its list of the top 100 highest-grossing movies of all time. In its May 2013 edition "100 years of Indian cinema", ''Filmfare'' listed three films featuring Dutt in its top 20 list of highest-grossing Hindi films of all time, adjusted for inflation these films were ''Lage Raho Munna Bhai'', ''Khalnayak'' and ''Saajan''. Vidhu Vinod Chopra on 29 September 2016 announced that the third part of Munna Bhai series, starring Dutt in the title role, would begin soon. In 2017, Dutt appeared as the lead in '' Bhoomi'', directed by

Omung Kumar Omung Kumar Bhandula is an Indian film director, and production designer, known for his works in Hindi cinema. He had hosted one of the famous show Ek Minute on Zee TV 90s. He made his directorial debut with the 2014 biographical sports drama ''M ...

. In 2018, he starred in ''Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3''. In 2018, it was also announced that Dutt would feature alongside

and Vaani Kapoor in ''Shamshera,'' which will release on 22 July 2022. On 29 June 2018, his biopic ''

'' released in which he made a special appearance. Dutt appeared alongside

Alia Bhatt Alia Bhatt (; born 15 March 1993) is a British actress of Indian descent who predominantly works in Hindi films. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Alia Bhatt, several accolades including four Filmfare Awards. One of I ...

and

Aditya Roy Kapur Aditya Roy Kapur (born 16 November 1985) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in 2009 with the musical drama film ''London Dreams''. Kapur had his first commercial success came with the romantic mu ...

Sadak 2 ''Sadak 2'' () is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language action thriller road film directed by Mahesh Bhatt and produced by Fox Star Studios and Mukesh Bhatt under their banner Vishesh Films. A sequel to the 1991 film ''Sadak'', it stars Sanjay Dutt (r ...

in 2019. The film was universally panned and some claimed it to be one of the worst films in Dutt's career. In 2019, he joined the cast of historical film Bhuj: The Pride of India, which featured an ensemble cast consisting of

Ajay Devgn Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi cinema. Devgn has appeared in over a hundred films and has won numerous accolades, including four ...

Sonakshi Sinha Sonakshi Sinha (; born 2 June 1987) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. After working as a costume designer in independent films, she made her acting with the action film ''Dabangg'' in 2010, which won her the Filmfare Award for Be ...

and

Nora Fatehi Nora Fatehi (born 6 February 1992) is a Canadian actress, model, dancer, singer, and producer who is predominantly known for her work in the Indian film industry. She has appeared in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam films. She made her debut ...

. He was seen in the film Prassthanam on 20 September 2019. Dutt played Adheera, the main antagonist in '' K.G.F: Chapter 2'', the sequel to the blockbuster Kannada film, '' K.G.F: Chapter 1'', marking his debut in Kannada cinema. The movie, as of June 2022, is the third highest grossing Indian film. Dutt also appeared in

Toolsidas Junior Toolsidas Junior is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age sports film written and directed by Mridul Mahendra, who based it on his own life and childhood. Produced jointly by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar under T-Series Films along with ...

, a sports drama and '' Samrat Prithviraj'' alongside

Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...

in the latter. His upcoming films include

The Good Maharaja ''The Good Maharaja'' () is an unreleasedIndia, Indo-Polish language, Polish war epic film directed by Vikash Verma, and produced by G7 Films Poland. The film stars Sanjay Dutt in the title role of Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji, Digvijaysinhji Ran ...

and Ghudchadi.

Off-screen work

Dutt co-hosted the fifth season of the Indian reality show '' Bigg Boss'' along with

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

. The show aired on ''Colors'' television from 2 October 2011 to 7 January 2012. Dutt later said it was Khan who persuaded him to co-host the show. Dutt and entrepreneur

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

cricket team owner

Raj Kundra Raj Kundra is a British-Indian businessman, who was ranked as the 198th richest British Asian by Success. His father, Bal Krishan Kundra was a middle-class businessman and his mother Usha Rani Kundra was a shop assistant when he was a child. ...

together launched India's first professionally organised

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

league—the

Super Fight League Super Fight League is a mixed martial arts promotion, based in India. The organisation was formed in 2012 by actor Sanjay Dutt and British-Indian businessman Raj Kundra, and is currently co-owned by British-Indian businessman Bill Dosanjh and ...

—on 16 January 2012.

Personal life

In the early 1980s, Dutt had a relationship with his co-star from his first film,

Tina Munim Tina Ambani (née Munim) is a former Indian actress. She is married to Anil Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Group. She is actively involved in many foundations and charities. Many of these were established in the memory of her in-laws, Dhirubhai a ...

. After this relationship ended, Dutt married actress Richa Sharma in 1987. She died of a brain tumour in 1996. The couple have a daughter, Trishala Dutt, born in 1988, who lives in the United States with her maternal grandparents. Dutt's second marriage was to air-hostess-turned-model Rhea Pillai on 14 February 1998. The divorce finalised in 2008. Dutt married Manyata (born Dilnawaz Sheikh) first registered in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

in 2008 and then, in a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

ceremony in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, after two years of dating. On 21 October 2010, he became a father to twins, a boy and a girl. Shahraan Dutt, Iqra Dutt He is a devout

Shaiva Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...

who has read holy scriptures and theological works.

Health issues

Dutt was diagnosed with stage 3

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

in August 2020. He took treatment in Mumbai and now recovered from lung cancer.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Criminal Behavior

Bombay suffered a series of serial bombings in 1993. Dutt was among several people associated with Bollywood who were accused of involvement. It was alleged that Dutt accepted a delivery of weapons at his house from Abu Salem and co-accused Riyaz Siddiqui, who had also been implicated in relation to the Bombay blasts. It was claimed that the weapons formed a part of a large consignment of arms connected to the terrorists. Dutt, however, in his confession stated that he took only one Type-56 from the producers of his movie ''Sanam'', for his own family protection. It has also been reported that Sanjay Dutt's father Sunil Dutt's political rivalry caused Sanjay Dutt's conviction. In April 1993, after initial reporting by Baljeet Parmar on Dutt's possession of the AK-56, he was arrested under the provisions of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). Dutt was granted bail by the Supreme Court of India on 5 May 1993; however, on 4 July 1994 his bail was cancelled and he was re-arrested. On 16 October 1995 he was granted bail. Abdul Qayyum Abdul Karim Shaikh, who was thought to be a close aide of the terrorists' ringleader,

Dawood Ibrahim Dawood Ibrahim (; born 26 December 1955) is an Indian mafia gangster, drug kingpin, and wanted terrorist from Dongri, Mumbai. He reportedly heads the Indian organised crime syndicate D-Company, which he founded in Mumbai in the 1970s. Ibrahim ...

, was arrested. Dutt had given Qayuum's name to the police when confessing to arms possession, saying that in September 1992 he had bought a pistol from Qayuum in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

. His arrest coincided with the release of his film, ''

,'' in which he played a wanted criminal. The film's major success was in part due to Dutt's off-screen legal controversy. On 31 July 2007, Dutt was cleared of the charges relating to the Mumbai blast; however, the TADA court sentenced Dutt to six years' rigorous imprisonment under Arms act for illegal possession of weapons. According to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', "The actor claimed he feared for his life after the notorious 'Black Friday' bombings, which were allegedly staged by Mumbai's Muslim-dominated mafia in retaliation for deadly Hindu-Muslim clashes a few months earlier. But the judge rejected this defence and also refused bail." Dutt was returned to at the Arthur Road Jail and soon after moved to the Yerawada Central Jail in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. Dutt appealed against the sentence and was granted interim bail on 20 August 2007 until such time as the TADA court provided him with a copy of its judgement. On 22 October 2007 Dutt was back in jail but again applied for bail. On 27 November 2007, Dutt was granted bail by the Supreme Court. On 21 March 2013 the Supreme Court upheld the verdict but shortened the sentence to five years' imprisonment. Dutt was given a month to surrender before the authorities. Dutt has said that "I am not a politician but I belong to a political family." He was persuaded by a close friend to contest the 2009 Lok Sabha elections as a candidate for the Samajwadi Party, but withdrew when the court refused to suspend his conviction. He was then appointed General Secretary of the Samajwadi Party, leaving that post in December 2010. In March 2013 the Supreme Court upheld Dutt's five-year sentence, 18 months of which he already spent in jail during the trial. He was given four weeks to surrender to the authorities, the court having refused to release him on probation due to the severity of the offence. On 10 May, the Supreme Court rejected Dutt's review petition for the reconsideration of his conviction and asked him to surrender on the stipulated date. on 14 May, Dutt withdrew the mercy plea and surrendered to the Mumbai Police on 16 May 2013. Just before the surrender, the Mumbai jail authority got an anonymous letter threatening Dutt's life. Dutt filed an appeal to allow him to surrender before entering Yerwada Central Jail. Later, Dutt withdrew this request too. He was paroled from 21 December 2013. The parole was extended three times until March 2014, raising concern in Bombay High Court and a proposal from the Government of Maharashtra to amend the law of parole. He returned to Yerwada Central Jail after his parole ended. Dutt was out on a two weeks' furlough granted by the Yerwada Central Jail authorities on 24 December. He was subsequently incarcerated in

Yerwada Central Jail Yerwada Central Jail is a noted high-security prison in Yerwada, Pune in Maharashtra. This is the largest prison in the state of Maharashtra, and also one of the largest prisons in South Asia, housing over 5,000 prisoners (2017) spread over va ...

, to complete his jail term. He was released from there on 25 February 2016 after serving his sentence.

In popular culture

* The author

Yasser Usman Yasser Usman (born 1980s) is an Indian television journalist, news presenter, and biographer. Born in Moradabad, Yasser began his career by working as a television presenter and was awarded the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journali ...

published a biographical book on Dutt, titled '' Sanjay Dutt: The Crazy Untold Story of Bollywood's Bad Boy'', in 2018. * ''

'' is a 2018 Hindi film, based on Dutt's life. Dutt's role was essayed by actor

. * In 2021, Punjabi Singer from

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it ...

Sidhu Moose Wala Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu (11 June 1993 – 29 May 2022), better known by his stage name Sidhu Moose Wala, was an Indian rapper, singer and actor. He rose to the mainstream with his track "So High". In 2018, he released his debut album ''PBX 1'' ...

had also made a song
Sanju
', comparing his

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...

possession and firing case with Sanjay Dutt.

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dutt, Sanjay Male actors in Hindi cinema Living people 1959 births Filmfare Awards winners Screen Awards winners International Indian Film Academy Awards winners Zee Cine Awards winners Indian male child actors Indian male singers Lawrence School, Sanawar alumni Politicians from Mumbai Samajwadi Party politicians Male actors from Mumbai Film producers from Mumbai Indian actor-politicians Bigg Boss Indian game show hosts Punjabi people 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors Hindi film producers Indian criminals Indian Hindus Prisoners and detainees of Maharashtra Indian people imprisoned on charges of terrorism 1993 Bombay bombings People convicted on terrorism charges