Sanjay Dutt: Every citizen should know the law

Sanjay Dutt: Every citizen should know the law
Nattily dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans, Sanjay Dutt looks fighting fit and relaxed as he settles down to his first interview since stepping out of Yerwada jail on February 25. It’s been six months since, and he’s savouring his time with the family. Wife Manyata helped him stay connected when away through letters and would drive down to Pune once a month to meet him, not missing a mulaqat even when she was unwell because that would have meant waiting till the next month. “I don’t know if I’d have done as much. She’s made me realise how important a wife is. She’s given me a home, two beautiful children, stayed strong and helped me stay strong,” he tears up.

Sanjay however refused to let his kids, Iqra and Shahraan, visit him, not wanting them to have any memories of their papa in prison. But once they’re older, Manyata and he have decided to tell them about it before anyone else does.

“For now they are happy to have me back, papa se darr nahin lagta, he’s not a disciplinarian. He only wants them to grow up to be good human beings,” he says.

There was a time when the 57-year-old actor had shied away from interviews. Today he speaks candidly about his life before industrialists, executives and young entrepreneurs, admitting that after the anger, resentment and sadness over his sentencing had faded, he decided to find some positives to make the jail term bearable. “I read the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana and the Puranas, used buckets and clothes lines to work out, learnt Marathi and how to make paper bags. I also worked at the radio station and in the natak mandali in jail where I taught 60-70 convicts serving out life sentences to mouth dialogues, sing, dance and express themselves through skits,” he reveals.

After six months they hosted a cultural function to which Rajkumar Hirani and the jail authorities were invited. When the latter applauded, the prisoners turned emotional, swore to reform and work hard after release, says Sanjay, pointing out most of them are not hardened criminals but committed a crime in the heat of the moment or were driven by circumstances. “I made a mistake too. I should have been more responsible, but I was young then. I paid for it and now, finally, it’s behind me,” he says with relief, admitting that if he could turn the clock back, he’d have listened to his parents and after being arrested, studied up on the law.

“Every citizen should know the law because once you are in jail, no amount of money can buy you back your freedom. In 1993, when I went to MN Singh (then Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime), he decided my case fell under the provisions of TADA. Had I known then what TADA meant, I’d have questioned it,” he rues, happy that the Supreme Court eventually acquitted him of the terror charges in the ’93 Mumbai blasts. “I was convicted under the Arms Act for possession of a rifle which was never found nor used to threaten anyone. Still it’s a big relief that I’m not branded a terrorist and an anti-national thanks to the SC’s judgement. My father (Sunil Dutt) who had passed away by then, would have been happy.”

He remembers his father as a Gandhian, a man of honour and respect, the strongest person he’s known. “In weak moments, I’d recall my parents teaching me to love the country and all religions,” he says, pointing out that though his mother, Nargis Dutt, was buried in the same cemetery as her mother, Jaddan Bai, her last rites were conducted by a pandit, a maulana, a Christian priest and a Buddhist monk. “Today, after coming out of jail, I realise people respect me because I didn’t run away. I served my sentence like a man and came out like a man, with dignity.”

There were reports of him getting special privileges, including frequent furloughs which were sometimes extended, and he argues that according to the law, every prisoner is entitled to furlough and parole after a certain period. “I’d served out 18 months of the sentence earlier so I was entitled to furlough six months into my term this time. Every day hundreds of prisoners come out on parole and hundreds go back in, no one talks about them. Stardom is a doubleedged sword. Anyway, I faced it all and finished it off,” he reflects.

Sanjay’s returned home with a script he penned with two of inmates, Zeeshan and Dr Sameer whom he met at the radio station and discovered they had a flair for writing. He tossed them an idea and encouraged them to turn it into a movie script. Initially apprehensive, they eventually came up with a light-hearted take on the jail with the message of reformation. “I’ve given it to Sajid-Farhad to polish, it’s likely that the duo will direct the film for me. Once the script is locked, we’ll pitch it to a couple of actors, we need someone younger,” says the actor-producer.

Meanwhile, his story may find its way into a book. It has also spawned a biopic with Ranbir Kapoor playing him. The day he stepped out of jail, Raju Hirani took the first shot. “I was in a daze. I don’t know what we shot, I don’t even know if I’m in the film,” Sanjay confides, refuting rumours that the film has been delayed because he wants the script tweaked. “I’m told they’ll start in December. The dates are sorted but Raju is still writing. He has 900 hours of recorded conversations with me from which he has to cull out a two-and-a-half-hour film. He doesn’t want me to hear it till the first draft is ready. He should give me a narration in 15-20 days.”

The script that did not measure up was Siddharth Anand’s action film. Buzz is, Shelly Chopra’s Marco Bhau script has also fallen short but Sanjay insists that this film which was to roll in November has been delayed by a month because producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra wants the music to be ready first. “It’ll be the first film I shoot for, a decision taken by Vinodji and me when I was out on furlough. It’s a feel-good film about a fatherdaughter relationship, the right one to start this innings with,” he asserts, adding that around the time he will also start the Hindi remake of Mahesh Manjrekar’s Marathi film De Dhakka.

Also on the cards is Khal Nayak Returns which he will be co-producing with Subhash Ghai and which will revolve around Ballu Balaram, his iconic character. “Once the script is ready, we’ll decide on the director,” he says. Sanjay Leela Bhansali had wanted the rights to Khal Nayak, will they approach him? “He’s busy with Padmavati, besides he’s too big a director!”

There’s also an action-adventure, Kafala, Dance Gangs “for which I have to sit with Remo D’Souza” and Bhumi, an emotional family drama. What about Dhamaal 3? Sanjay reveals that Indra Kumar did meet him for another instalment of the hit franchise but they couldn’t agree on the economics and it’s on hold. However, Munna Bhai 3 should start after the biopic.

Sanjay wants to only do a few films that matter and as a producer invest in entertaining commercial cinema made in the right budget, with the right script. “I want to do the kind of roles Denzel Washington, Mel Gibson and Kevin Costner play if I get such scripts. I’m at that age now,” muses the actor who’s raring to get back to work. He got a preview of sorts when he shot for a vest ad.

“It was amazing being back on the sets again, in front of the camera and the lights. Some veteran fighters and junior artistes came to Madh Island to meet me, making it special,” he smiles, saying that from October he’ll focus on his workouts and will be in perfect shape when he starts shooting.

Before that during his kids’ Diwali break he’s planning a family vacation. “I can’t go to certain countries like UK and the US and Europe may be too cold then so it could be the Maldives,” he says. Didn’t he leave the IIFA Awards prematurely to romp with his wife and kids in Ibiza? “My family went to Barcelona before coming to Madrid. I was too ill to travel and spent the next two days in bed. I wouldn’t have gone to Spain had I not made a commitment. Even Raju had a terrible flu,” he sighs.

Along with the twins he’s also very close to his firstborn, Trishala, and is all praise for her grandparents and aunt who have brought her up amazingly well. “I don’t know if I could have raised her as well. They gave her the best education. She’s graduated in forensic science and now is into fashion. I’m proud of her,” he beams. Any plans of getting into films? “No, woh keeda dimag se nikal gaya hai,” he laughs, adding that they wrote to each other regularly when he was in jail and now speak every second day.

Talking about bonding, he admits that there was a lot of that in the industry earlier. “Now the set-up is more professional,” laments Sanjay who’s close to Sajid Nadiadwala but if rumours are to be believed, is at war with Salman Khan.

“What jhagda? I went to his Ganpati celebrations when I was out on furlough and no one wrote about it. But he didn’t visit me after I returned and that was news. He’s a busy actor, he was shooting far away, he can’t be sitting at my house 24x7 but he’s still my younger brother,” Sanjay asserts.

He’s also mended bridges with former bestie Sanjay Gupta who, he says, is one of our best technicians who’s made path-breaking movies like Kaante. “Bhaiyon mein jhagda hota hai and the world takes advantage of that. But jab bhai mil jaate hain, no one talks about it,” he grouses, saying he is waiting for Gupta to come to him with a great script.

And will he get back into politics? The query raises a laugh, “The good point of being convicted is that you can’t contest for three years.” And after that? “No,” he says shortly. “I may campaign for Priya Dutt because she’s my sister even if I don’t support her party. My sisters and I share a special bond.”