Things Sanju left untouched about Sanjay Dutt’s life

Sanjay Dutt’s two wives and daughter Trishala

Sanjay Dutt with his wives Richa Sharma and Rhea Pillai.

Sanju has no mention of Sanjay Dutt’s first wife Richa Sharma, a former actor who Sanjay met during his rehab days. Richa was diagnosed with brain tumour and got treated at the same hospital in the US as Sanjay’s mother Nargis. It is said that Sanjay couldn’t balance his personal and professional life then. This was also a reason for his strained relationship with daughter Trishala for many years. Though father-daughter duo have buried the hatchet now, this entire phase of his life was missing in Sanju.

Sanjay’s second wife Rhea Pillai also finds no place in the film. He married Rhea two years after Richa’s death. The two had quite a public separation.

Kumar Gaurav

Sanjay Dutt and Kumar Gaurav in a still from Naam.

Sanjay Dutt had a tough start in Bollywood with Rocky (1981). His addiction to drugs took a toll on his films too with continuous flops for the next five years. That’s when his close friend Kumar Gaurav tried to revive his career with 1986 film Naam, which was directed by Mahesh Bhatt. The film turned out to be a blockbuster. This and a lot more Gaurav did for Sanjay. All of it was missing from Sanju, even the fact that Gaurav later became the brother-in-law of Sanjay.

1999 – the year of back-to-back hits

Sanjay Dutt’s career saw an upswing post-1999, with several hits in the following years.

Out of the five films released in 1999, Daag: The Fire, Haseena Maan Jaayegi and Vaastav were his back-to-back hits. Vaastav also got him his first Filmfare trophy for Best Actor (Male). All Sanju showed with regard to his films was a small sequence on Munna Bhai MBBS. Probably because it was from the same makers. But we cannot remove the year 1999 from Sanjay’s life.

Sanjay Dutt’s alleged link-ups

Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit teamed up in nearly a dozen of films.

We only saw Ruby as Sanju’s love interest. But there were several co-stars who were allegedly linked with Sanjay during the 1990s. This speculated list includes Madhuri Dixit and Tina Munim.

Also read | Sanju real vs reel: Things that left us wondering whether they actually happened in Sanjay Dutt’s life

The Bal Thackeray connection in getting him bail

Sanjay Dutt met Bal Thackeray soon after getting bail in 1995. (Photo Courtesy: Express Archives)

Sanjay Dutt was arrested in 1993 in connection with the Mumbai serial blasts, something we clearly saw in the film. But, nowhere was it shown that it was allegedly with the intervention of Bal Thackeray, Sanjay was released in 1995 after having spent 18 months in prison. It is reported that his father Sunil Dutt met Thackeray senior to make the special plea.

Sanjay Dutt’s failed attempt at entering politics

Sanjay Dutt later said he regretted joining politics.

Sanjay had plans of contesting as a candidate from the Samajwadi Party in the 2009 parliamentary election. However, owing to his involvement in the 1993 Mumbai blasts, the Supreme Court cancelled his candidature. Sanjay had in later interviews said that it was a mistake on his part to join SP, as he wished to get associated with the Congress, despite a fallout with the party before. His father Sunil Dutt was also a Congress man and served as the Union sports minister in the UPA government between 2004 and 2005.

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Brush with the underworld

Sanju barely showed enough of Sanjay Dutt’s links with the underworld.

Apart from showing that he accepted a delivery of weapons and explosives from gangsters who were responsible for the Mumbai blasts, there was no other mention of Sanjay’s involvement with the underworld. Sanju does not show his alleged connection with gangsters like Abu Salem and Chota Shakeel.

Also Read | Sanju box office collection day 5: The Rajkumar Hirani film earns Rs 167.51 crore

Sanjay Dutt’s friendship with Salman Khan and Sanjay Gupta

Sanjay Dutt and Sanjay Gupta delivered hits like Kaante, Zinda and Shootout at Lokhandwala.

Apart from the many Bollywood biggies, two of Sanjay’s closest friends were Salman Khan and Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan teamed up in films like Saajan and Chal Mere Bhai. They even hosted a season of Bigg Boss together.

While Dutt had a fallout with Gupta owing to some misunderstanding, Sanjay and Salman, however, still remain good friends. The two often make guest appearances in each other’s films.