Here are six intriguing episodes from Sanjay Dutt’s life that we might see in Sanju

Sunil Dutt stood by his son Sanjay Dutt through thick and thin. (Express Archive Photo)

With Sanju, we’ll probably see many emotional, controversial and pivotal episodes of Sanjay Dutt’s life. Here’s looking at a few incidents that we might see in Sanju:

1. Introduction to drugs

In an interview with Simi Garewal, Sanjay had once said that he started experimenting with drugs after he returned from his boarding school and joined college. It was a slippery slope from there on. Sanjay has said that it was once after a drug bender, he woke up after two days and he knew he needed help. His father Sunil Dutt took him to Breach Candy Hospital and from there he went to a rehabilitation centre in the US.

2. The time when he wanted to buy a ranch in Texas

Sanjay became a new man after he spent time at a rehab centre in America. He confessed on Simi Garewal’s show that he did not want to come back to India after spending time there. In fact, he planned to buy a ranch in Texas and start cattle farming. When he shared the same with his father, Sunil Dutt said that he must come back and try living in Mumbai for a year and if he still wanted to go back after, he could. Sanjay did come back and after spending 10 months in the US. A producer approached him for a film. Sanjay refused and said he would head to the US after two months but the producer assured that he would wrap the film in that time. Sanjay stayed and resumed his acting career.

After getting out of rehab, Sanjay wanted to settle in America.

3. The tragedy of losing his first wife

Sanjay was on an outdoor shoot when his wife Richa started complaining of headaches. Never could he imagine that she would get diagnosed with a malignant tumour in the brain. She moved to America for her treatment. Sanjay’s daughter Trishala was not even a year old when this diagnosis took place. Richa lived in America for the rest of her days. Eventually, the custody of their daughter was allotted to Richa’s parents.

4. The 1993 bomb blasts

This was certainly a dark phase in Sanjay’s life. When a firearm, which was part of the consignment that was brought to Mumbai to incite violence, was discovered in Sanjay’s house, his circumstances changed dramatically. He was accused of being a terrorist and was imprisoned under TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities) Act. Sanjay and his father Sunil Dutt have given many interviews over the years where they have repeatedly spoken about his innocence in the entire matter. Many of his colleagues also stood up for him but the public perception changed when an audio recording of Sanjay talking to Chhota Shakeel was leaked.

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Celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan stood by Sanjay Dutt during his court case. (Express Archive Photo)

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5. Time spent in Jail

We have already seen bits of this episode from Sanjay’s life in the trailer of Sanju and one can expect that director Rajkumar Hirani would fully explore this period. Spending time in a jail cell and eating food with other prisoners “humbled” Sanjay Dutt and he has spoken about it on various occasions.

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Sanjay Dutt was tried under the TADA Act. (Express Archive Photo)

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6. Tension amongst siblings

Sanjay’s sisters Priya and Namrata have been extremely supportive of their brother through thick and thin but it was speculated that the siblings had a fallout after Sanjay endorsed Samajwadi Party while his late and Priya had their loyalties assigned to Congress. Later, it was even said that Priya and Namrata did not attend Sanjay’s wedding to Maanyata.

Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, Sanju starring Ranbir Kapoor releases on June 29.