New Delhi: Destiny’s child, deadly Dutt, comeback king and recently Munnabhai – Sanjay Dutt’s sobriquets over two decades perhaps indicate the phases his life has seen.
Born to one of Indian cinema’s most enigmatic couples, Dutt spent most of his life fighting the odds – death of his mother, drugs, the passing of his wife, a flagging career in cinema and finally the charges in 1993 Mumbai blasts case.
However, one of the most enduring aspects of Dutt’s life has been his fans who stood by him through the troubled and the well-publicised phases.
Dutt’s troubles started early in life when he took to drugs in high school. The addiction worsened when his mother – legendary actor Nargis - died shortly before the release of his first film, Naam, in 1981.
He was sent to rehab in US where is met his future wife, Richa Sharma. The couple married and had a child, but Dutt's happiness remained short-lived as Sharma died of a brain tumour shortly after.
Another unfortunate phase in his life started when he lost custody of his daughter after a bitter legal wrangle with his in-laws.
And just when he seemed to be putting it all behind him and came up with box office hit Khalnayak, his links with the 1993 bombings surfaced and he was jailed during investigations.
A year in jail later, Dutt married socialite Rhea Pillai. But the couple divorced in 2005 and the same year his father, actor-turned-politician Sunil Dutt, died of a heart attack.
In 2001, he was investigated for alleged money-laundering deals between the Mumbai underworld and Bollywood. He was also alleged to have been caught in a taped conversation with gangsters accused of kidnapping, extortion and murder.
Pedigree and clout apart, the actor – known as "Deadly Dutt" for his macho image and on-screen portrayal – has arguably been controversy's favourite child.
But uncannily, he has retained popular support and sympathy from Bollywood as most see him as a sober, good-hearted man whose troublesome youth refuses to leave him.
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