Munna Bhai in Jail on 55th Birthday
Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt who turns 55 today, is spending the day in Pune's Yerawada Jail. The past 14 months have been tough for the actor, who surrendered before a Mumbai Special Court on May 16 to serve the remainder of his three and a half year jail sentence after his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
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Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt is spending his 55th birthday in Pune's Yerawada Jail. The past 14 months have been tough for the actor, who surrendered before a Mumbai Special Court on May 16, 2013 to serve the remainder of his three and a half year jail sentence after his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
Here's a look at Sanjay Dutt's journey as he turns a year older. -
In the fateful 1993, Sanjay Dutt was arrested for illegal possession of arms and spent 18 months in jail. Three weeks after his arrest, his film Khalnayak was released, co-starring Madhuri Dixit and Jackie Shroff. It went on to become a super hit and established Sanjay amongst the top-rung of Bollywood actors. It also earned him his second Filmfare nomination.
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Jail free, Sanjay Dutt made his Bollywood comeback in 1999 with films like Khubsoorat, Daag: The Fire, Haseena Maan Jayegi and the award winning Vaastav. He was now in his 40s. In Vastaav Sanjay played a gangster and won his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor.
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The film that redefined the Deadly Dutt's career was Rajkumar Hirani's 2003 blockbuster comedy Munnabhai MBBS, followed by the 2006 sequel Lage Raho Munnabhai. Munna and Circuit are the most remembered on-screen friends since Jai and Veeru from Sholay.
Sanjay Dutt's comic timing was also been widely appreciated and the actor was seen in more comedies like Dhamaal (2007), All The Best (2009), No Problem (2010) and Rascals (2011). -
In 2012, the new Agneepath broke the record of the highest opening day collections. Sanjay Dutt received rave reviews for his performance as the villainous Kancha Cheena in the film. This was followed by Ram Gopal Verma's Department in which he played Inspector Mahadev Bhosle, the leader of an encounter squad. In the film, Sanjay also featured in a remake of hit song Thodi Si Jo Pi Li Hai, from Big B's film Namak Halaal.
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In 2012, Sanjay Dutt co-starred in the movie Son Of Sardaar with Ajay Devgn. Sanjay's bandit king character was widely believed to be modelled on his that of his father in the movie Mujhe Jeene Do. The movie crossed the Rs 100 crore mark at the box office.
The following year, he featured in the film Policegiri. The movie did average business at the box office. -
In 2013, Sanjay Dutt's fans also saw him on the silver screen in Apoorva Lakhia's Zanjeer, a remake of the 1973 movie of the same name. The actor reprised the role of Pran's iconic character Sher Khan in the movie which also featured Ram Charan Teja and Priyanka Chopra in the roles played by Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan originally. The movie did average business at the box office.
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Sanjay Dutt's personal life has been as chequered as his professional one. After a quick courtship, young Sanjay married starlet Richa Sharma in 1987. In 1988 Richa was diagnosed with cancer and she left for the US for treatment. Richa died in 1996. The couple have a daughter, Trishala.
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On Christmas this year, Sanjay Dutt will be seen in Rajkumar Hirani's Peekay in which he co-stars with Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Sushant Singh Rajput and Boman Irani. This was the last film which Mr Dutt completed before his prison sentence.
Here's wishing Sanjay Dutt a very happy birthday and many more movies to come.
