On Sanju baba's birthday we take a trip down memory lane. Sanjay Dutt was born on July 29, 1959 to actors Sunil and Nargis Dutt. He is their first born son. He has two sisters, Congress Lok Sabha MP Priya Dutt and Namrata Gaurav
He began his career as a child artist at the age of 12. He appeared as a young qawwali singer in 'Reshma aur Shera' that starred his father Sunil Dutt, Waheeda Rehman and Rakhee
Sanjay got addicted to drugs during his college days. He also suffered from bouts of depression due to his mother's death, who succumbed to pancreatic cancer
His drug addiction distanced many filmmakers. Director Subhash Ghai wanted to cast him in his superhit 'Hero' but the role finally went to Jackie Shroff
To help his son get rid of his addiction, Sunil Dutt send Sanjay to a rehabilitation centre in Texas, USA where he was able to kick the habit
He made his debut with Sunil Dutt's 1981 movie 'Rocky'. His role as an angry young man role, won the hearts of critics and fans alike
His big hit came with Mahesh Bhatt's 'Naam'. The film was famous for it's song 'Chitti Aayi Hai'
Sanjay went unnoticed in the 80s with a series of flops like 'Naam O Nishan', 'Inaam Dus Hazaar', 'Mardon Wali Baat' and 'Mohabbat Ke Dushman'
After a lull, Mahesh Bhatt's 'Sadak' revived Sanju's fortunes. The remake of Martin Scorcese's 'Taxi Driver' was a hit, and Sanjay was cast opposite Mahesh's daughter, Pooja Bhatt, in the film
For his next film 'Saajan', Sanjay Dutt shed his action hero tag and played the role a handicapped romantic. This role fetched him a Filmfare nomination
His next big role in Subhash Ghai's 'Khal Nayak' made the character of the menacing Ballu, one of Bollywood's most iconic characters.
In 1987, Sanjay married Richa Sharma. However, she died due of cancer. They have a daughter named Trishala who is now studying in the United States
Sanjay then went on to court his beautiful co-star Madhuri Dixit and their relationship was the talk of the town. However Mads broke up with him, when Sanjay's name cropped up in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case
Dutt was arrested in 1993 due to alleged involvement in the 1993 case, that killed hundreds
The actor was booked under the draconian Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA). He had to spend 16 months in jail as an undertrial until he was granted bail in October, 1995, by the Supreme Court. In 2007, the actor was arrested again, but again was released on bail
Sanjay married for the second time in 1998, and tied the knot with Rhea Pillai. However the union ended in 2007, and Rhea went on to marry tennis ace Leander Paes
His role as the fearless gangster Raghu in Mahesh Manjrekar's 1999 crime drama 'Vaastav' won him his first Filmfare award for the Best Actor
His most popular role to date has been that of the lovable gangster 'Munnabhai'. His chemistry with Arshad Warsi aka Circuit worked well for audiences.
Sanjay Dutt is now married to Manyata Dutt (earlier Dilnawaz Sheikh)who he dated for two years. The couple were blessed with with twins, Shahraan and Iqra in 2010
However the couple did have their own share of problems when Manyata's ex-husband surfaced, claiming that they had not been legally divorced yet
In 2008, Sanjay decided to join politics as a candidate for the Samajwadi Party. He landed in trouble when he said that he would give a 'jaadu ki jhappi' to Mayawati, which offended the UP Chief Minister
He played baddie Kancha Cheena in Karan Johar's 'Agneepath' and his performance drew praise from critics
Source : AFP
Sanjay's next big release will be the Ajay Devgn production 'Son of Sardaar'
Source : AFP
Sanjay Dutt also co-hosted season 5 of Bigg Boss with actor and close friend Salman Khan
