Sanjay Dutt: A Life Unshackled From Past Mistakes

Jail term done, Sanjay Dutt can lead a life unshackled from past mistakes.

- Prachi Pinglay Plumber

Sanjay Dutt takes the microphone, belts out a cheery greeting and announces the start of the radio programme. He talks to listeners who share their problems, advises them and also spins some music. No, this isn’t the opening shots of a sequel to Raju Hirani’s Lage Raho Munnabhai, though it may well be, but this is what keeps him busy at Yerawada Jail. Sanjay, 56, will be out of jail, once and for all, next week after completing his sentence for possession and destruction of an AK-56 automatic rifle. He was an accused in the epic 1993 serial blasts trial for 14 years and was acquitted of terror charges in 2007, but was convicted for other offences under the Arms Act. After appeals, the Supreme Court confirmed his conviction—Sanjay had to serve the remainder of his sentence, having done time for 18 months after his arrest. His family, former Congress MP Priya Dutt, wife Manyata, lawyers and friends from the film industry are looking forward to what may truly be a fresh lease of life.

“It has been like a sword hanging on him and the family for the past 23 years, not only the time since 2013 that he has been in jail, but for all the years the case has gone on. This has haunted him and has affected his work and personal life,” says Priya Dutt, his sister, who followed her father, the iconic actor-turned-politician Sunil Dutt’s trajectory into social work and public life.