Best of Baba

As the actor turns 56 today, here's presenting a list of top 10 films which would look incomplete without the rebel star...

 

Agneepath (2012)

Sanjay Dutt made Kancha his own and made people forget Danny Denzongpa’s performance as Kancha Cheena from the original. He’s good when he’s good but he’s better when he’s bad.

 

Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006)

He reprised his character from the original Munnabhai but with a difference -- this time the Bhai wasn’t pretending to be a doctor but he had turned Gandhian. It was fun to see a tough as nails goon practicing non-violence. He gave Gandhigiri a new lease on life in the process.

 

Parineeta (2005)

He played the strong, silent suitor to Vidya Balan in this period romance and played the perfect foil to the hot-tempered Saif Ali Khan

Munna Bhai MBBS (2003)

The actor played a gunda, who has to pretend to be a doctor in order to fool his parents in this take off on Patch Adams. Sanju baba was looking for a change of image and wowed the viewers with his comic timing in this Rajkumar Hirani comedy.

Mission Kashmir (2000)

It was a bold move at the time for Sanjay Dutt to play Hrithik Roshan’s father in this action drama with Kashmir terrorism as the backdrop. He played the concerned father, caught between his duty and filial love to the T and showed us he could excel in a deglam role too.

Vaastav (1999)

This is the film where he brought out all his angst and showed the world he can deliver a knockout punch when given a chance. The actor was going through a low phase and this firecracker of a performance as a misguided youth turnned a dreaded mafia don was his way of silencing his critics.

Daud (1997)

This road movie had Sanjay Dutt playing a man on the run by the name of Uma Parvati. Get that -- Uma Parvati. This trippy film didn’t meet with a favourable response then but became a cult classic over the years. A must-watch for any die-hard Sanju baba fan.

Khal-Nayak (1993)

Subhash Ghai wanted to cash-in on Baba’s notorious image and hence cast him as the anti-hero in this cops vs the bad guys drama. But Sanjay Dutt was so good that he eclipsed everyone else in the film. The only other take-away from the film was the Choli ke peeche song featuring Madhuri Dixit, and who can forget that!

Saajan (1991)

In a departure from tough guy roles, the actor played a soft-hearted poet who lets go of the girl he loves for the sake of friendship. Surprisingly, the masses loved the macho star in this mellow avatar and Saajan turned out to be one of the highest grossing films of the time.

Sadak (1991)

This gritty drama had him playing a taxi driver who falls in love with a prostitute and fights her pimp as well as the system in order to rescue her. The realistic portrayal by Dutt as a man fighting his own demons, while dealing with the ills of society is easily one of his best performances ever.