NOSTALGIA
HE AT & DUT T
PARTITION
Born on June 6, 1928
in a Punjabi zamindar
family in Khurd, on the
banks of the Jhelum,
Balraj Dutt (later Sunil
Dutt) spent his childhood
in Pakistan. He lost his
father, Diwan Raghunath
Dutt, at the age of five.
When he was 18, the
Partition (1947) unleashed
Hindu-Muslim violence
across the country. His
father’s Muslim friend,
Yakub, escorted the
family to safety. Dutt and
his family relocated to
Mandauli, Haryana on the
bank of Yamuna. Despite
witnessing the wrath of
the Partition, Dutt carried
no angst. He lived by his
mother, Kulwantidevi
Dutt’s words, “Leave your
past behind. If you keep
wallowing in the ravages
of the Partition, you will
only intensify the hatred
nside you.”CHEQUERED CAREER
e moved to Mumbai in
he early ’50s, joined Jai
nd College and took up
j b at the BEST transportdivision to survive. He
lived in a small room in
South Mumbai which
he shared with eight
people including tailors
and barbers. Feeling
stuffy, they’d sleep on
the pavement at night
bang outside an Irani
restaurant. “It would
open at 5.30 am and
that was our wake-up
call,” recalled Dutt in an
interview adding that tea
from the café kick-started
his day. His participation
in college dramatics got
him an opportunity to
host the show, Lipton Ki
Mehfil on Radio Ceylon,
where he interviewed
film personalities. While
covering the Dilip Kumar
starrer Shikast (1953),
Dutt met director Ramesh
Saigal, who impressed
by his demeanour,
offered him a role. Dutt
declined the offer as he
had promised his mother
that he’d first complete
his education. Eventually,
he went on to do his first
film Railway Platform
(1955) with Saigal. But
he shot to stardom withA
s a youngster, he witnessed the brutal reality of the Partition.
But he didn’t allow hate to discolour his view. In fact, he
remained an advocate of peace all his life. He hit stardom
playing the negative Birju in Mother India and set the
template for the bête noire in Hindi cinema. He then risked
his own life and rescued Nargis from the fire on the set of the film. Later,
he married her not because she was a superstar but because she was
a super person. He put everything on hold to nurse her when she was
diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Though emotionally broken, he played
saviour to son Sanjay Dutt when his drug addiction was discovered after
Nargis' passing away. He braved the trials and the incarceration that
Sanjay underwent in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case with stoic
strength. 58 Pali Hill, the home of the Dutts, was indeed privy to several
heartbreaking moments through the decades.
Yet, Sunil Dutt was not someone who could be consumed by his own
tragedies. His desire to contribute to the larger good couldn’t be stymied
by his own despair. Helping NGOs for AIDS campaigns, betterment of
slum-dwellers and sex-workers, reaching out to the jawans and riot
victims, his allegiance towards the people was way bigger than his
politics. He may have acted in over 100 films, but the lives he touched
as a human being defy count. Remembering the man, the messiah...
w
o
o
inCH
He
the
Hin
With wife Nargis Dutt a jobActor, filmmaker, politician, family man... but above all a humanist.
Sunil Dutt was way beyond his films, writes Farhana Farook
JUNE 6, 1929 - MAY 25, 2005