Sanjay Dutt’s troubled life has finally mellowed him down, says Team Viva
Having learnt life’s lesson has made a much sober man out of actor Sanjay Dutt. “For me, it all depends on the script and one should not be scared to play any character if you believe in it,” says Dutt who has always been Bollywood’s poster boy for action films. Bhoomi is one of the most anticipated films in Bollywood currently as it marks the actor’s comeback in the film industry after his 42-month long stay in Yerawada Jail, Pune.
The movie will see him as a father out to avenge his young daughter’s rape. Dutt has had a turbulent life — drug-addiction, jail-term and two divorces — he has seen it all.
The latest poster of the film portrays Dutt in a ferocious and gory blood-soaked avatar. This takes Dutt’s first blood-soaked-face look from the first poster, a notch further. His raging anger is reflected in every inch of his skin, eyes and mouth. This happens to be the film’s fourth poster.
It seems that Bhoomi is packed to the brim with action as well as a lot of emotion. The movie explores the relationship between a daughter, played by Aditi Rao Hydari, and a father, portrayed by Dutt.
The movie will see him in the role of a doting father. “I share a lovely father-daughter relationship where I can be seen oiling my daughter’s hair and teaching her how to cook. But there is a parallel track where the father is protective and even aggressive when it comes to his daughter,” he says.
A dad of three — Trishala (from his first marriage with Richa Sharma) and twins Shahraan and Iqra (with Manyata), Dutt says as a father, he does not want his son to be like him. “I try to teach them the values of life, give them sanskaar, and teach them (that) respect for elders is very important even if they are your servants... And that you’ve got to value life. I only pray my son is not like me. Because what my dad went through, I don’t want to go through that.”
He even touched upon his tryst with drugs and said, “I got onto drugs in college. It used to be like if you’re not into it, you’re not in the scene. So, I started it, but I got so hooked on to it that it took me about 10 years to get out... But I was lucky that I had the means and the provisions to get out of it.”
And he was quick to advise the youth bout staying away from drugs. “I saw life differently without drugs and I want to tell the young guys that please stay high on your life, on your family, or your work... There’s no substance which can make you high. I promise, it’s my experience.”
But not just youth in general, Dutt has a word of advice for the younger lot of heroes. “India is not just about multiplexes, its what is beyond it. The ability to reach out to the masses – that's what makes you a star. The newbees should look beyond the artificial world that they have created for themselves,” he said. He believes that the industry is changing but only in the manner it conducts its business.
Speaking at the Mind Rocks Youth Summit Dutt elaborated on how he compared himself with his legendary father when it comes to fatherhood, Dutt said, “My father raised us as normal children. I was sent to a boarding school... I went through the grind. And I am the same way with my children.”
Photo: Pankaj Kumar