Throwback interview of Sunil Dutt recalling the emotional moment of seeing his son, Sanjay Dutt, being handcuffed and taken to jail.
Son of veteran actors, Sunil Dutt and Nargis Dutt, Sanjay Dutt is one of the most sought-after actors in Bollywood. From his debut film, Rocky, to movies like Sadak, Vaastav, Saajan, Khalnayak, Munna Bhai MBBS etc., Sanjay has always proved his acting prowess. While his professional life was always applauded, his personal life had undergone a dark phase when Sanjay had served 42-months in Pune's Yerwada Jail.
It was in 1993 when Sanjay was convicted for illegal possession of arms and weapons in the horrendous 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. During that time, the entire world had turned its back against him, and it was his father, Sunil Dutt, who stood like a pillar of strength for Sanjay.
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When Sunil Dutt had appeared on Simi Garewal's show, Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, the veteran actor had recalled the painful moment of seeing his son being handcuffed and taken to jail. Sharing his emotions about the same, Sunil had stated:
"I remember that when his bail was cancelled, he was supposed to be taken right from the court to the jail. They were handcuffing him, and that was the first time I realised that whatever I have done for my country, it was totally futile. This is the thing which I had to see as a father. I got a little emotional."
Sunil Dutt had further revealed how Sanjay had sensed that his father was going to break down and had comforted him. Revealing how proud he felt of Sanjay for his mature approach, Sunil had retorted:
"I wanted to control myself because I thought it’ll affect him. And he could see that my father is going to break down. And he just caught my hand. He said, ‘Dad, this is routine work. Hey inspector! Come on now, put the handcuff around me.’ He took is so casually and I genuinely tell you, I felt very proud of the boy.”
In their memoir, Mr. and Mrs. Dutt: Memories of Our Parents, Sanjay Dutt's sisters, Priya Dutt and Namrata Dutt had revealed the impact of Sanjay's sentence on their father, Sunil Dutt. The Dutt sisters had shared that their dad used to sleep on the floor and used to get up early in the morning. The reason was that their brother was also sleeping on a stone floor in the jail and used to get up early as per the jail's routine. Recalling the same, Priya and Namrata had penned:
"Dad became obsessed with Sanjay's situation, and his behaviour became increasingly erratic. He was beside himself. He didn't sleep and would get up at four in the morning. He would say how could he sleep when his son was in the same city, a few miles away from him, lying on a cold stone floor?"
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According to a report published in Pinkvilla, Sanjay Dutt had once recalled getting thrashed by his dad, and the reason behind it was his habit of smoking. According to Sanju, it had so happened that he was once smoking secretly inside his room, and his father, Dutt sahab had entered the room out of nowhere. And after learning of Sanju's habit of smoking, he had beaten him with his shoes!
For the unversed, Sanjay was released six months early in February 2016, after he had impressed the officials with his great conduct inside the jail.
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