Dressed in designer duds, Sanjay Dutt flashed his smile on cue as he posed for the shutterbugs and their flashing lights. But the actor appeared far from comfortable.
Perhaps it was the searing heat that saw the air conditioning fight a losing battle in the confined space where the interviews were being conducted. Or perhaps the discomfort ran a little deeper for Dutt, with his return to the limelight post his incarceration putting a few things into perspective.
Quiz him whether 35 years of standing in the bright lights of Bollywood ever gets cumbersome, and the actor pauses before answering: “No. I mean that’s my job. That’s my love and my passion.”
The well-oiled response is also an opening to ask about his newfound passion these days, one that his wife Maanyata Dutt claims he’s been secretly nurturing for years. Proof of his handiwork is peppered all across wife Maanyata Dutt’s Instagram account, which features envious shots of a family holiday spent in Europe early this summer.
Speaking with tabloid! the 57-year-old actor (he turns 58 on July 29) spoke at length about putting his creativity to the test by pursuing photography of late.
“I have always loved photography, right from childhood. My first camera I ever bought was a Nikon, which used to have a film,” he confessed. “I have done a lot of landscape photography and started doing portraits after our kids were born.”
“My favourite subjects are wildlife, landscapes; nature is what I mainly like.”
His wife lends weight to this revelation, saying: “I think Sanjay is a great photographer. He’s inherited this talent from his father [veteran actor Sunil Dutt], I think. I have seen the family pictures at home, which have been shot by his father. And now, my daughter at home is now following in the footsteps of her father. I always see her at home with a phone, taking pictures.”
Praise for Shaikh Mohammad and Dubai
Dutt, who was in Dubai to grab new camera gear for a photography tour he’s got planned, said he was also quite keen on capturing the city’s glittering skyline if possible.
“I can’t leave India obviously, but I wish I could live here,” said an almost wistful Dutt. “I am one of the biggest fans of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad [bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai]. You know what he has done with Dubai … I have seen it in 1986 when I came for the shooting of Naam. And to see it today. I mean he’s got Dubai on the map of the world. You don’t need to go anywhere in any part of the world. People can just come to Dubai and get everything. And it’s so safe and so comfortable. I just wish, I could just meet His Highness and tell him I am his biggest fan.”
Don’t be alarmed if a trigger-happy Dutt is spotted trapezing across Dubai, armed with his shiny new toys.
“I would like to photograph a lot of Downtown [Dubai]. All those beautiful buildings … Dubai in the night. Maybe the spice market, the gold souk. But very candid shots. I can’t have this posing kind of things,” he said with almost childlike enthusiasm. “Maybe … it’s a damn good idea. I can do it one of these days.”
Most obvious direction
So with a new hobby that he’s nurturing, could a future coffee table book be in the works as well?
Dutt confirmed this could very well be on script. “My wife keeps telling me because of the landscape photography I have done. And because I have done a lot of it over the year.”
The most obvious transition, of course, would point towards film direction for Dutt, who appears to be reinventing his second innings in Bollywood these days.
Quiz the actor and he didn’t deny it.
“I have thought about directing and eventually I will. It is just about the right time and the right kind of script or subject, which I need to come across,” he revealed.
Of late though, Dutt has a handful of forthcoming acting gigs that takes him well into 2019.
The actor himself admitted he’s got a busy few months ahead, with his film ‘Bhoomi’, alongside Aditi Rao Hydari (who reportedly plays his daughter in the film), is expected to release in UAE on September 21.
“And then I have Torbaaz, which is very interesting. It’s about children trained as suicide bombers. I play a coach who teaches them [kids] how to move away this,” he explained.
The actor continued: “Then Munnabhai is going to come. And Prasthanam and Malang. It’s a good line-up ahead.”
Conviction
He is also the main subject of a film based on his checkered past, which includes his drug addiction in the 1980s, leading up to his terrorism charge and followed by his 2013 conviction by the Supreme Court of India for acquiring illegal guns from men who were found guilty of the serial bombings in Mumbai in 1993, in which more than 250 people were killed.
The actor was sentenced to five years in prison, of which he completed four years, before being released from a Pune jail last year eight months early on the account of good conduct.
The biopic, which is currently being shot, features fellow actor Ranbir Kapoor who is playing the reel-life Dutt in the biopic.
The mental trauma following his conviction and release can leave lasting psychological affects, and Dutt is far from denying such is the case.
He said: “For an actor, to get his personal experience to the set is very normal. I mean, how difficult your life is not always helpful. And my life has not been too easy.
“You got to switch off and you got to move on. You are not going to keep sulking about what’s happened. Take it as a lesson and finish it. That’s the end of it.”
The actor, who is completing 36 years in Bollywood since his 1981 debut with ‘Rocky’, imparted some sound advice to the current crop of actors in the industry today, which includes his favourites, Ranveer Singh and Ranbir Kapoor.
“Be grounded and be down to earth. Work hard.”
Sanjay Dutt on ...
... his favourite photograph.
“I was on a photographic safari in Africa and I just saw something phenomenal. A cloud and … I don’t know how it was … maybe the sun was behind it, but the cloud was reflecting on the sky. So it looked like a shadow was falling. I think that is one of my best photos. I think to get that perfect photography, you have to be at the right place at the right time.”
... his favourite photo of his parents, actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis.
“It’s from their film, Mother India. I think there is one on a bullock cart where both sons are lying on her [Nargis’] lap and my dad is playing with her kangan (bangle). I think that is my most memorable photograph.”
... his ability to approach a film script with fresh even today, after 36 years of acting.
“I don’t find it difficult because I don’t do too much of prep. I mean, I go with the flow. I come to the sets, I read the scene. I just don’t want to come prepared and become mechanical for a scene. I just want to be natural. Everybody has his own way of working, but if I do a lot of preparation then I am not myself. I just have to go with the flow.”
... joining social media:
“I know. Everyone keeps telling me to. I plan to on my birthday later this month.”
Legal labyrinth
In the latest turn of events in Sanjay Dutt’s long list of legal woes, earlier this week, the Maharashtra government justified its decision to grant the actor an early release from prison last year, following a petition filed whether the actor was given VIP privileges.
Dutt was a convict in Pune’s Yerwada Jail, following his five-year sentencing for illegal possession of arms dating back to the 1993 serial blasts that ripped through Mumbai and resulted in the death of 250 people.
The actor was freed in February 2016, eight months and 16 days before he completed his jail term.
The Maharashtra government reiterated in the official court filing that no special treatment was dished out to Dutt in the case. In an affidavit to the Bombay High Court, the government stated the actor showed “good behaviour and discipline”.
The court, which is hearing a petition, has asked the government to give details of the work Dutt did in prison. The government has two weeks to respond.
Following a long and drawn out legal battle, Dutt was cleared of conspiracy charges in the Mumbai blasts in 2007, but he was found guilty of illegal possession of an AK-56 rifle and a pistol; the actor maintains he acquired the weapons to protect his family. Dutt spent 18 months in prison, but he was released on bail until the Supreme Court put him back behind bars to serve out the remaining 42 months of his prison sentence.
