Faced with jail time, Sanjay Dutt made Sheeba promise that she’d take care of pregnant Maanayata: ‘I spent nine months with her’

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt served a five-year prison sentence for his involvement in the 1993 Mumbai blasts. He was convicted under the Arms Act for possessing illegal weapons and was granted bail multiple times throughout his sentence before being released in 2016. During his time in jail around 2009-2010, Sanjay’s wife, Maanayata Dutt, was pregnant with their twins. Faced with further jail time, Sanjay reached out to his close friend and fellow actor, Sheeba Akashdeep, asking her to support Maanayata in his absence.

In a recent conversation with Pinkvilla, Sheeba reflected on witnessing this difficult chapter in Sanjay’s life up close. She shared that she stood by Maanayata throughout her pregnancy, ensuring she was not alone during those nine months. She said, “When he was going into prison he called me and said, ‘Maanayata is alone, I want you to go and take care of her’. I used to go everyday from my house to sit with her so that I can be with her as she was pregnant and alone. I wanted to be with her till the time he comes out. So, I spent that entire nine months with her.”

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Earlier, during his appearance on the show Star vs Food Survival hosted by chef Ranveer Brar, the Khalnayak actor had revealed how he utilised his time in jail to work out and learn cooking. “The first time I went to jail if you see the photographs outside Thane jail – Anna, Akshay, Ajay, Shah Rukh, everybody came and wished me well. I had no respite from serving jail time, so why overthink it? I had to make up my mind that yes I had to go. I have to face it. In six years, I faced it, managed it, made the most out of it, and learned from it. I used that time to learn cooking, scriptures, and working out. I came out with a better physique,” he said.

On the professional front, Sanjay was last seen in Telugu film Double iSmart. He will be seen in multi-starrer Welcome to the Jungle and will star in various regional films.