Ass Sanjay Dutt He remains one of the most talked about stars in Bollywood, with conversations about his tumultuous phase in life. 1993 Mumbai blasts cases continue to resurface even today. One of those moments was the veteran actor and politician Sunil Dutt politely open to help Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray when his son was arrested under TADA and the Arms Act.In an appearance on Rajat Sharma’s ‘Aap Ki Adalat’, Sunil Dutt spoke candidly about the difficult times and explained why he came close to Bal Thackeray despite being ideologically opposed to Shiv Sena politics.At the time, Maharashtra was ruled by the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance, and Sanjay Dutt faced serious charges related to illegal possession of arms after the 1993 Mumbai blasts.Sunil Dutt revealed that actor Rajendra Kumar advised him to meet Bal Thackeray for help.“Bal Thackeray ji is my old friend. I know him before entering politics. He respects me and I respect him,” Sunil Dutt said on the show.Explaining why he approached the Shiv Sena leader, the veteran actor said it was a practical decision as Thackeray was influential in the state government at the time.“At that time, it was his government. And you will remember, he said that the remote control was with him. If someone has a key and a remote control, a person will go to him,” he explained.Sunil Dutt further compared it to taking an unwell child to the right specialist.“If my son is sick, I will take him to the doctor. If there is a political problem, I will go to a politician. That is the reason,” he said.
“I did not compromise my principles”
During the interview, Rajat Sharma asked Sunil Dutt whether taking Bal Thackeray’s support was compromising his principles, especially since he had always publicly opposed communal politics.However, the actor strongly denied compromising his ethics.“No, absolutely not. If I had joined the Shiv Sena because they supported my son, then my principles would have been compromised,” he replied.Sunil Dutt also stated that he later contested the elections against Shiv Sena candidates, proving that there was no political agreement.“I fought the election against their candidates. Not once, but twice,” he said.He also said that Bal Thackeray did not impose any conditions on him in return for helping Sanjay Dutt.“He never told me not to contest the elections or put conditions in front of me. Small-minded people think like that. Bal Thackeray was not like that,” added Sunil Dutt.
Sunil Dutt on Sanjay Dutt’s turbulent phase
In the same interview, Sunil Dutt spoke emotionally about Sanjay Dutt’s difficult teenage years, drug addiction and the loss of his mother Nargis in 1981 days before the release of his debut film ‘Rocky’.The veteran actor admitted that Sanjay was very close to his mother and struggled to cope with her death.“He was very close to his mother and she was very close to him. He could not handle her death,” said Sunil Dutt.Recalling the harrowing days before Nargis’ death, Sunil Dutt revealed that he wanted to attend the premiere of Sanjay’s film, despite his failing health.“He kept saying, ‘I’m definitely going to see my son’s debut.’ We organized an ambulance, wheelchair and everything. But he died on May 3, while the premiere was on May 7,” he recalled.Sunil Dutt said that at that time Sanjay was emotionally broken and conflicted.“He was a young boy. He didn’t know whether to cry or celebrate because his first film was released,” he said.
‘Even the people around me knew me’
Sunil Dutt also addressed the long-standing perceptions of Sanjay Dutt’s alleged underworld connections, candidly admitting that he himself knew several high society figures, as did many people in the film industry at the time.“Why should I lie? Mastan was a very good friend of mine. Karim Lala was also my friend,” he admitted.However, he clarified that there is a difference between social interaction and criminal involvement.“If an artist starts helping with smuggling or crime, that’s wrong. But movie lovers all got together socially. They even went to movie parties,” he explained.
