Hard talk / Sanjay Dutt

You've been a huge star for almost two decades, but you seem to have established your acting credentials only now with Vaastav.I think I d...

You8217;ve been a huge star for almost two decades, but you seem to have established your acting credentials only now with Vaastav.
I think I did deliver some credible performances in my previous films too. In fact, people still talk about my work in Naam, Saajan, Sadak and Khalnayak. But yes, none of my films have brought me as much praise as Vaastav.

Did you expect your work in the film to earn you two prestigious acting awards?
Let8217;s just say I was more hopeful this time than I8217;ve ever been before. I had been nominated in the past too, but this time round I really wanted to win. I felt I might have deserved it this time. So naturally, I was overjoyed when I did get those awards.

At 40, do you feel recognition has come late?
No. It8217;s not as though I was considered a bad actor in the past. You8217;ll be surprised at the number of people who write to me saying they were really moved by my performances in some of my earlier films. I don8217;t think I was ever made to feel like I couldn8217;t act. I have been fortunate to work with some very good directors who, I think, have helped me grow as an actor over the years.

What is the kind of work you want to do now?
I don8217;t think I8217;m in any position to commission filmmakers to make only those movies that I want to do. But I can divide my time between doing the kind of films that I need to do and the kind of films that I want to do. In this country, actors tend to get typecast in roles that they suit. That8217;s happened a lot with me too. There was a time when I was doing only action films. But slowly that8217;s changed. And I want to make sure I never get typecast again. I want to do a little bit of everything that interests me.

Is there enough work for older actors like you, at a time when so many new actors are entering the field?
There8217;s always enough work for everyone. The kind of work might change. In fact, it needs to change. I don8217;t think it makes sense for me to play young, college-going characters anymore. I think I8217;m ready to play more mature roles now. In Vidhu Vinod Chopra8217;s Mission: Kashmir I play the older character while Hrithik Roshan plays the younger one. That makes sense. You can8217;t have us playing class mates. The audience isn8217;t going to digest that.

Some years ago, you8217;d launched a film Chakra as a producer, but shelved the project midway. What went wrong?
That film wasn8217;t going in the direction we wanted it to. My brother-in-law, Bunty Kumar Gaurav, and I both felt it might make more sense to abandon it at that stage, than go ahead with it and eventually be left with a product neither of us were proud of.

Most of your contemporaries are either turning to direction or production. Do those areas interest you at all?
I8217;m not sure, really. I think I still have a lot to learn before I turn to direction. Production seems like a more sensible option, but I really want to concentrate on acting now. I8217;m not done with acting yet. What I have achieved with Vaastav is only a fraction of what I think I have within me. I have a lot to offer. I8217;m not going away so easily.