us. But sometimes I’d hear
him sobbing in his room,”
recalled daughter Namrata
Dutt in an interview
with Filmfare. After an
excruciating period in
New York, a frail Nargis
was brought home.
Sanjay’s debut film,
Rocky, was to release
on May 7, 1981. She
expressed a wish to see
the film. Arrangements
for an ambulance and a
wheelchair were made
to take Nargis to the
Sanjay was packed off
to boarding school in
Sanawar, an experience
that was initially
traumatic for him. “During
his teens, he lost interest
in academics. He got into
bad company and started
smoking marijuana,”
shared Namrata.
After Nargis’ demise,
Dutt had to contend with
his son’s drug addiction.
“I spent three-and-a-half
years to get him out.
He was put in rehab in
Germany and Mumbai
but nothing worked.
I took him to America,
I took him everywhere for
treatment. When he was
clean, I told him, ‘You’re
on your own now... find
yourself a job.” Dutt once
shared in an interview.
While Sanjay got a
grip over his career, the
Dutts endured a series
of calamities including
Sanjay’s first wife Richa
Sharma’s terminal illness
and his own arrest
under the Terrorist and
Disruptive Activities Act
(TADA) in April 1993.
Even though Sanjay got
bail, the fear of conviction
and incarceration under
the Arms Act played
heavily on Dutt’s mind
right till his last breath.
LOVED LAWMAKER
Personal tragedies
couldn’t distract Dutt
from working for the less
privileged. After Nargis’
demise, he formed The
Nargis Dutt Foundation
for cancer patients.
Whether it was the China
war in 1962 or the Kargil
war in 1999, he visited
the borders to boost the
morale of soldiers. For
the Hands Across the
Borders mission, he drove
through India, Sri Lanka,
Gumrah
Mother India
Sujata
Milan
Mujhe Jeene Do
Munna Bhai M.B.B.S
‘‘DAD WOULD FEED MOM (NARGIS), CLEAN HER, HELP
HER BRUSH HER TEETH WHEN SHE WAS IN HOSPITAL.
HE NEVER SHARED HIS FEELINGS WITH US.
BUT SOMETIMES I’D HEAR HIM SOBBING IN
HIS ROOM,’’ SHARED NAMRATA DUTT
auditorium. But she
passed away on May 3,
- A seat was kept
vacant between father
and son at the premiere of
Rocky in her memory.
SUPER FATHER
Sanjay was a born rebel.
“As a little boy, he’d
pick up my father’s
stubs and take puffs,”
recalled Namrata in
Filmfare. Between an
indulgent mother and
a disciplinarian father,
HIT MOIVES
OF SUNIL DU T T
With Nargis and Prithviraj Kapoor
With late Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi
Being honoured by late
President Dr Zakir Hussain