Sanjay Dutt has had to endure quite a bit in his life, but one of the episodes that most people refer back to is the time when he was sentenced to prison. The actor had been arrested and charged for possessing weapons in connection to the 1993 Mumbai blasts that shook the country. When the news came of Dutt being arrested and made it to the headlines, not only were Bollywood celebrities sent into a state of panic and shock, but his fans and followers too were absolutely stunned.
That period of time was extremely difficult for the Dutt family, especially for actor turned Member of Parliament, Sunil Dutt. Veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha spoke about all that he and his friends did to help Sunil Dutt get Sanjay out of jail and also mentioned that even then the actor does not keep in touch with him.
During the biography launch of producer Rajan Lall, Sinha recalled how the situation had panned out and how they helped Sunil Dutt during these trying situations. Sinha also described what it was like during the Mumbai riots.
He said, "Sunil Dutt was like my elder brother. Him, me, Rajan Lall and Shashi Ranjan used to sit together with each other every evening, amid the Mumbai riots. We used to cross the risky and dangerous streets. During that time, a major problem landed on Dutt saheb's head. Humaara and sabka laadla Sanjay Dutt jail mai tha (Sanjay Dutt was in jail then)."
The actor turned MP, Shatrughan Sinha, spoke about how their motive at the time was to bring back Sanjay home and that their only aim was to help the family at that point.
He said, "We were tensed and worried for him, genuinely from the heart. Itna acha aur pyaara insaan, Sunil Dutt ka chashmo chirag ko kaise bahar nikaala jaaye (We were concerned about how Sunil Dutt's son culd be released from jail)? How can we do something for them?"
It was Balasaheb Thackeray who had come to the family's rescue. Sinha mentioned, "We were lucky that Maharashtra's lion, father figure, or Godfather Balasaheb Thackeray was with us. We introduced them to him and Balasaheb Thackeray ji played a major role in Sanjay Dutt's case. Be it his return from jail or facilities being provided there. Aaj agar Sanjay Dutt yahan hote toh bahut acha hota (It would be nice if Sanjay was here today). The day he came out of the jail, he was with us. He came straight to our house after coming out, after taking blessings at Siddhivinayak temple. We then went to Rajan Lall's home, congratulated him and talked for hours."
Sinha became a little somber as he admitted that neither he nor his friends, the ones who stood beside Sunill Dutt in those trying times, get to see Sanjay anymore. He admitted that Sanjay does not keep in touch with anyone of them. However, he clarified that Sanjay probably is busy and thus unable to keep ties, but he in no way wished to indicate that the actor was being rude.
Sinha said, "The story had its twists and turns after that. We have since then tried to find Sanjay a lot of times, especially Rajan Lall. He tried in front of us and through us, but Dutt saheb ka chashmo chirag jo hume nahi mila hai, uske upar ek title lag chuka hai 'dhundhte rehjaaoge' (We can't find Dutt saab's son anymore, he can be given the title of 'find me if you can' ). But, this doesn't mean that he isn't lovely, he might be having his own reasons, problems, or just busy."
In terms of work, it has been long enough since Shatrughan Sinha moved away from the limelight and chose not to work in cinema anymore. He is completely devoted to politics at the moment and serves as a Member of Parliament for All India Trinamool Congress.
