Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 26, 2018)

Filmmaker Rahul Mittra rubbishes rumours that his upcoming action-thriller, Torbaaz, has been shelved. “We’re shooting two huge action sequences and three songs over a 45-day schedule in Bishkek with our lead pair, Sanjay Dutt and Nargis Fakhri. We start on April 17 in Kyrgyzstan and will also be travelling to Uzbekistan,” informs Mittra, who is producing the film with Raju Chadha. Written and directed by Girish Malik, the gritty drama features Nargis as an NGO worker, Ayesha, who looks after refugee kids in warn-torn Afghanistan. Sanjay’s character is an army officer who teaches the young suicide bombers cricket in a bid to divert their attention from the violence around. Nargis plays Sanjay’s love interest whose sole aim is to rebuild Afghanistan after years of war and destruction.

The first schedule took off in freezing December with Sanjay’s wife, Manyata, and children, Iqra and Shahraan, joining the actor in the snow-clad outdoors. The second schedule in Bishkek, with the unit travelling along the Silk Route through Central Asia, is longer and more strenuous, and has Sanjay playing cricket in the snow with a bunch of child artistes. There will also be a few days shoot in Mumbai around June. “But what’s most exciting is that he has recreated, ‘O Meri Aangan Ki Chidiya Hai Tu’, revolving around a father-daughter relationship in a melodious tune for Torbaaz. It is one of the five songs Sanjay wrote during his stay in Yerwada jail and is deeply emotional. When he hummed it to us during our recent meetings, we were keen he sing it himself. He has a great ear for music and has set it to tune himself,” says Mittra.

From crooning the most recent, “Jai Mata Di” in Bhoomi to singing “Samjho Ho hi Gaya” for Lage Raho Munna Bhai and “M Bole Toh” in Munnabhai MBBS, and “Aye Shivani” in Khoobsurat, Sanjay has always enjoyed working with composers.

Mayank Shekhar (MID-DAY; August 16, 2017)

It's ironic to celebrate the nation’s Independence Day, or freedom, inside a prison, which is precisely what we did. But maybe the venue was auspicious still, if you consider that Yerwada Central Jail, founded in 1871, was once very much Ground Zero for India’s freedom struggle.

The most famous alumnus of Pune’s “reformation and rehabilitation school” — as B K Upadhyay, ADG, Prisons, liked to call it — isn’t Sanjay Dutt, Ajmal Kasab, Abdul Karim Telgi or Arun Gawli (both current residents), but Mahatma Gandhi. In fact, the first enclosure you go past on your left from the jail’s main entrance is Gandhi Yard, an office now, and a memorial to commemorate Gandhi’s term in the same cell.

This is also possibly where the famous 1932 Poona Pact was signed. Not that we got to step inside. The entire 70 acres’ prison campus is naturally kept out of bounds for visitors.

To the right of the entrance are egg-shaped cells, where the most hardened criminals are kept even out of sunlight. It’s the gloomiest part. But as we walked straight ahead, there was only colour — freshly painted walls — and much cheer as “4,000 of the jail’s 5,000 bandhis (inmates)” had gathered (as per Upadhyay’s estimate) under a massive shamiana to celebrate India’s 70th year of independence.

Colour plays an important role in the life of inmates here. Undertrials wear colourful/normal clothes. Those convicted walk around in white uniforms, with a Gandhi cap. A yellow band on the shoulder signifies someone serving life sentence. A red band means the person had tried escaping from the jail before (literally the red flag, as it were). Blue bands across the white Gandhi cap designate the inmate as a sort of a ‘class monitor’— made to serve as a guard within the prison — minding other inmates.

One such old inmate, Nitin, took the stage to start yesterday’s I-Day show, singing a Mohammed Rafi song (‘Chahoonga main tujhe’), followed by a male cop who thumped it up with Marathi pop (Ajay-Atul’s ‘Bring it on’), and a female one who did a desh-bhakti number (‘Aye mere watan ke logon’). In line with fine, pre-independence courtly practice, the warm, matronly Swati Sathe, DIG (prisons), announced cash reward for the police personnel, and two months’ sentence off (‘maaf’) for Nitin.

The three later jammed on stage with Farhan Akhtar, who was obviously the star of the show. Akhtar, along with the cast of his film Lucknow Central, entertained the unlikely guests — releasing an a cappella track video for them, singing old and new songs, reciting poetry on dreams and hope, making speeches on life’s second chances — for over an hour-and-half. These were unlikely guests, only because they were unlikely to catch the film when it actually releases at a theatre near them on September 15. Lucknow Central is set around a music band inside a prison. “Maybe we could consider showing the film here,” Upadhyay, who’s pretty much a performing shayar himself, said, eventually — to a loud, ecstatic applause. We’ve all witnessed the sort of pandemonium movie stars generate at public places — malls, restaurants, even press meets.

To compare that with the impeccable discipline, top-notch decorum inside one of South Asia’s largest prisons gave you a sense that while a film was being promoted at the venue, this was in fact the best PR exercise that Yerwada Jail itself could have asked for.

The visitors were strictly told not to interact with inmates. But one of them, the young, bearded Rohan Hazare, almost a doppelganger of Chakravarthy (Satya in the eponymous 1998 film, also supposedly set in Yerawada), got up impromptu, picked up the mic to speak in crisp English of a laudably civilised life he’d led in jail: “It’s been four-and-a-half years here, and seven years since I held a mic, so I’m nervous, I’m sorry.” This is the guy we wished to know more about.

Reluctant conversationalist Sanjay Dutt talks biopic, jail- term, drugs, and what he misses about Bollywood — certainly not the underworld
Mayank Shekhar (MID-DAY; April 23, 2017)

News of Vijay Mallya’s arrest is doing the rounds as we get on Sanjay Dutt’s Bhoomi film set, with Dutt chilling with his entourage under an open-air, makeshift tent on a hot Tuesday afternoon, while rehearsals are on for a courtroom scene inside the Basra studio-lot in Kandivali. “He’s not been arrested in Scotland, yaar. Scotland Yard in London has arrested him,” Dutt corrects his colleague. I ask him if he’d rather chat after he’s delivered a four-page monologue for a major pre-interval climax to be shot later in the evening. “Let’s get this over with first,” he says.

Omung Kumar’s Bhoomi is Dutt’s first film since he got out of jail over a year ago. Looking at him — thick beard, dressed in beige Pathani suit, playing an oldish father — what I find slightly surreal is, as we speak, there is another actor (Ranbir Kapoor) who’s walking, talking like exactly him, few minutes’ away at Kamalistan studio in Jogeshwari, where Dutt’s biopic is simultaneously being shot by director Rajkumar Hirani.

Amazing shots
Surreal, no? “Hmmm… Right,” Dutt mumbles. “It is really amazing. I’ve heard the script, and it is brilliant. I love the way it’s being shot.” Has Ranbir got the mannerisms right, though? “Yeah, he’s pretty much there, man. It’s unbelievable what he’s doing.” The last time Dutt visited his biopic’s set, he says, they were shooting a ‘radio-station’ jail sequence: “It was done so well. I feel Ranbir’s one of the best actors we have, and to top that, there’s Raju Hirani.”

Prodded to elaborate further on what a radio station scene in a jail could be about, Dutt recalls, “The DIG, IG, and the superintendent were kind enough to build the structure of an in-house radio station in (Yerwada) jail when I was there. We used to play music and have programmes. They put a few of us together. But out of 4,500 (inmates), we had to find out who were the good writers, engineers, and who could speak clearly. I was an anchor — I used to write, talk. The whole jail would listen. Every barrack had speakers connected. We’d play songs.” Did he play tracks from his films? “Farmaish hoti thi. Whatever farmaish used to come, we’d play.”

Give or take a few paroles, and furloughs — a word that entered popular lexicon in India, thanks to Dutt himself — the actor has cumulatively spent five years of his life in prison, which would be long enough, if you were to visit another city or country, to naturalise yourself as a local. What does being in jail do to you? Dutt has been to boarding school (in Sanawar), although that’s not even close to complete physical confinement with just a few people you can meet and second-class compartment of a running train that won’t stop for years! Just watching Bigg Boss for three months sends shivers down people’s spines. Does prison change you as a person? “Why should anything change you as a person?” Dutt shoots back. “In jail, there is too much frustration and negativity. And to change that into positive is very, very difficult. There is a lot of hope and expectations that you have to first eradicate from your life for that period. Which is again, very difficult.
But you’ve got to do it.”

Surely, the common experience shared among inmates creates a bond that’s hard to match; has he made some close friends. Is he in touch with them? “Yes, you do find a couple of people who matter a lot, and who you start idolising, actually, because of how they’ve conducted themselves through so many years. They’re there just for having made one mistake, and have to face 20 or 25 years (for it). To hear them speak about life. Or even about rules, regulations. To watch their behaviour, and respect for other people — it was shocking, and a lesson for me. I can’t take their names, and I would definitely like to be in touch with them.”

Given his profession, maybe Dutt could mine some of these stories to script characters worthy of film. An unverified information that I’ve heard for years relates to Bhiku Mhatre, inarguably Bollywood’s finest gangster, played by Manoj Bajpayee, in Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya (1998). The character, it is said, was based on a friend that Dutt had made during his prison term. Is that true? “Yes, there was (someone like Bhiku). And I told Ramu about him,” Dutt confirms. His name was Bhiku? “No.” Are you in touch with ‘Bhikhu Mhatre’? “He’s doing life (serving life sentence).”

Only a year after Satya, however, Dutt had immortalised himself as gangster Ramdev Shivalkar on screen in Mahesh Manjrekar’s Vaastav (1999). Did he know someone like Raghu as well? “Vaastav was totally Mahesh Manjrekar’s baby, based on some other person. That film had nothing to do with me. That was only, and absolutely Mahesh,” he says.

If you don’t know this about the actor already, Dutt is a severely restrained, reluctant conversationalist — his responses are rationed and measured, if not monosyllables, while he waits for your next question. Or maybe this is how he’s with reporters. Or ones he doesn’t know personally.

Dutt was arrested under TADA, which was repealed later, and for illegal possession of arms, after the 1993 Bombay blasts. To be fair, being under intense journalistic scrutiny over 23 years could make anyone cynical towards a profession, or its professionals. The last time I interviewed him, over a decade ago, my long questions were met with answers that went: “Yes.” “That’s right.” “No.” “Yes.” “Maybe.” Which is how we eventually ran that interview.

Once bitten, I went this time with no questions at all. My notes, which I didn’t bother opening either, simply read: “Films (something newsy, separate story). Jail. Drugs. Underworld.” Of these, my hunch is that option three will get Dutt to open up. I’m not mistaken.

I am the research
How long was he under the grip of drugs, I ask him. “Ten years or so…'79-'80's onwards,” Dutt says. Ever since he quit, he has been an active anti-drugs campaigner, speaking strongly on the cause. The argument he’s made about drug addiction is that an introduction to a drug in itself is invitation to a dark tunnel that you will inevitably keep going deeper into. This is in line with popular wisdom on the subject, which has, in fact, been challenged through researches lately, that now suggest that the key issue is not the substance — but personal circumstance. And that an individual once reconnected to a normal, satisfying life, would see himself weaning away from drug-addiction, with no external help.

Around 20 per cent of the US army in Vietnam, for instance, consumed heroin like chewing gum. About 95 per cent of them overcame that addiction automatically when they returned home —‘from a terrifying cage to a pleasant one’ — with very few of them having to go through any rehab. Dutt is visibly unimpressed: “These guys who do researches are never on the field. All you’re telling me is basically excuses for addiction. There was no Vietnam for me, and that’s why I did drugs. There is no this, or that. I knew I was doing heroin. I know this is cocaine. Why am I doing it? Because my mom is ill? What the f***. It’s because I want to do it. There is no ‘I wanted to connect, disconnect’. I’m bull-shi**ing myself. You’ve got to cut the bullsh** out. Drugs, or addiction, in any form, is wrong, whether it’s overeating, over-working, over-drinking — anything in excess is an addiction. These guys make excuses: 'Maine khana khaya itna, kyunki mere ko depression ho gaya'. You have to be counselled."

No excuse for addiction
Surely, there's got to be some good side to drugs, even if momentarily, for so many to voluntary be hooked to it at some phase or the other in their life? "No. What is so enjoyable about anything mood-altering, when you can get the biggest high, from life, family, or your work? There's something natural called adrenaline — there is no drug in the world that can replicate it. But that is the best high that anybody can get. Smoking marijuana, dope and all, is just mood-altering. I've heard guys say, 'Maine do joint maara, and what a performance I gave'. When your mind is altered, how are you going to make decisions?"

My feebly posed submission emanates from how recational drugs - and progressively more so alcohol - is either wholly demonised, celebrated. There is  rarely middleground subject. “Here this,” Dutt argues: “Eight out of 10 people in this world are addicts (addictive personalities). So, only two out of 2 are not. A guy can say, ‘Okay, I’ll have a joint on Saturdays, and he sticks to it. Or I’ll have one drink a day, bas’. And he does it. I’ve seen many people like that. But that percentage is too small. I wish I could be like that — enjoy my two to three drinks, and feel, ‘Arrey mazaa aa gaya’. Woh hota nahin hai, bhai. Toh bandh hi kar do, better hai. Are you ready to take that chance, of being (among) that 20 per cent? No.”

It’s a strong point. Hard to argue against. Maybe we could talk about something more fun. A piece I’ve been meaning to write, I tell Dutt, is on Bandra in the ’80s/’90 s — the ‘bhaigiri’, the party scene, the pop-culture… “No pop-culture; it was rock culture,” Dutt cuts me off, having opened up now, and offering to extensively chat on this subject over a long evening soon.

The original Bandra boy
I’m not sure how much of this would get encapsulated in his biopic, but both filmy kids and his contemporaries who were around in Bandra in the late ’80s have regaled me with stories about Pali Hill’s Sanjay Dutt — long hair, motor-bike, leather jacket — as the posh neighbourhood’s patron saint of ultimate cool, that everyone, including Salman Khan, looked up to, in awe and reverence: “Salman? Why will he look up to me (sic),” Dutt dives into his characteristic sarcasm, admitting though that “there was an image that I had, and I wasn’t pretending. It was a different zone.”

Underworld also flourished within Bollywood during the same decade, something that did him in eventually. “But the best part is, I have never done a film where they were (involved). But yes, they used to be part (of the film industry), and the whole industry was scared (of them). You had to be,” he says.

What Dutt, 57, misses most from back in the day, is the bonhomie in Bollywood: “It’s become competitive, cut-throat. The bonding between people has died. There used to be a family atmosphere, which is gone. It’s pretty shocking, but that’s the way it is, and that’s the way it’s going to be. It was beautiful before — bonding, meeting once a month, being on the sets… Outdoor shoots were all so different. We’d all sit and hang together. The last time I can really think about (doing this) was on the sets of (J P Dutta’s) LOC (2003), where there were a whole bunch of artistes in one film, one hotel. How much we enjoyed — without any egos, doing dinners, drinks, going out together. It was unbelievable. There was no fighting. Where were these (vanity) vans before? Now, nobody steps out of their van. I’ve been here (on set) since you’ve come,” says Dutt, indicating that maybe he should go back to his friends waiting for him, sitting around in a circle at the other corner of the tent.

“Vijay Mallya’s got bail,” he announces at the end of the two-hour interview. That was quick.

Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 25, 2016)

Today, Sanjay Dutt walks out of jail for the last time. And along with wife Manyata and a few close friends from the film fraternity, his Munna Bhai franchise director Rajukumar Hirani will be waiting for him outside. But while the others will only be wearing welcoming smiles, Raju, as Hirani is fondly called, will be wielding a movie camera.

The 56-year-old actor has been serving a 42-month sentence at Pune's Yerwada Jail after he was convicted for illegal possession of weapons in the 1993 serial blast case. His exit from prison will be documented as the first shot of the biopic Raju is directing with Ranbir Kapoor as Sanjay in reel life. A few weeks ago, Mirror had learnt that the beleaguered actor had wanted to get back to work immediately upon his release. This shoot was planned keeping his expressed desire in mind.

After, Hirani gets his shot, Sanjay will take a chartered flight to Mumbai where, as has been widely reported, he will head to Siddhivinayak temple, then proceed to the Bada Kabristan to visit his mother Nargis's grave and from there to his Bandra residence where he will perform a pooja in front of his father's portrait, seeking the blessings of the Lord and his parents as he embarks on a second innings.

In a video message Raju reiterated, "We are happy that Sanju is back. He has served his term and he's going to come back and play his second innings. Indians are famous for scoring well in the second innings. I'm sure he'll come back and rock it. I look forward to his biopic and also to starting Munna Bhai 3 with him very soon."

Earlier in an interview to Mirror (November 30, 2015) the filmmaker had revealed that the Sanjay Dutt biopic was expected to roll around May-June and they were targeting a 2017 release. He had narrated the script to Sanjay and got the go- ahead from him. "We'll keep showing him the film as we progress," he informed.

On his choice of Ranbir to play the actor, whose life has been punctuated with tragedies, controversies and a never-say-die spirit, Raju pointed out that RK is a fantastic actor, and being a star son with a great lineage, has known that life too. "Besides, he is friends with Sanjay and knows his life inside out. He had heard most of the stories before we narrated them to him," the filmmaker smiled.

The biopic has given Sanjay a reason to smile too as he gets back to a normal life and his acting job.

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 30, 2016)

Sanjay Dutt is set to start work on the third Munnabhai film after being released from the Yerawada Central Jail on February 25. Now, Mirror has learnt that besides returning to acting, the 56-year-old also wants to produce some films on his return.

While reports of him being involved in his biopic, to be directed by Rajkumar Hirani and featuring Ranbir Kapoor, are already doing the rounds, the actor is also planning to roll with a film on the life of one of his fellow prison inmates.

"Sanjay is friends with most of his cell mates and when he heard the story of this particular inmate, it touched him to the core and he immediately decided to make a film on it. The man is behind the bars following a family dispute and a significant part of the film will be of him inside prison," says a source close to the actor.

The actor-producer will take a call on the cast and the director once he returns to Mumbai. "He is definitely not co-writing this one but will be actively involved with the scripting and production. The film will roll this year itself," adds the source. Sanjay, who was convicted for possession of illeagal weapons in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, has served most of the 60-month sentence.

A regular remission has been granted to him for good conduct and he will be released by February end.

DNA (January 7, 2016)


Minister for state (home) Ranjit Patil has signed the file allowing Dutt’s release, without penalising him for reporting late from his furlough in January 2015, sources in Patil’s office confirmed to dna.

Dutt was not found guilty of returning late to the prison. In fact, he was in constant touch with the authorities, waiting for a final order on his plea for extension of furlough by 15 days, claimed sources.”The state has accepted that the fault was at its end and Dutt has been exonerated of all charges,” it added.

In October last year, finding administrative delays and lapses in awarding punishment to Dutt by Yerwada prison authorities for reporting late from his furlough in January 2015, a sessions court had asked the home department to take a final call on the matter.

In January 2015, Yerwada prison had announced extension of Dutt’s sentence by four days for reporting late from his furlough. Later, however, it was found that the lapse was on the part of jail authorities that delayed the decision on extension of his furlough.

Dutt was awarded a five-year sentence by the Supreme Court for illegal possession of weapons in a case linked to the 1993 serial blasts that killed 257 people in Mumbai.

Swati Deshpande (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 26, 2015)

Granting pardon will set a bad precedent, home dept said
Yogesh Naik (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 24, 2015)

Exactly two and a half years after former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju made an impassioned plea seeking pardon for Sanjay Dutt, Maharashtra Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao has rejected the appeal. Katju had written letters to the President, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde after a discussion with noted criminal lawyer Majid Memon and others in March 2013. Their decision came after Sanjay Dutt broke down in front of the media and declared that he was not going to seek pardon and would go by the Supreme Court decision.

Sanjay Dutt was convicted in the 1993 blasts case under the Arms Act for possessing weapons.

He was jailed in 1996 and spent 18 months behind bars before walking out on bail. In 2013, the Supreme Court sentenced him to five years in prison for the crime. The 18 months that Dutt had earlier spent in jail were taken into account and he was to spend another 42 months. After the imprisonment in May 2013, Dutt has spent nearly 30 months in prison already and is due to walk out a free man in February 2016.

After he was sent to Yerwada jail in May 2013, Dutt has been out on parole twice and an equal number of times on furlough. In October 2013, he was out on furlough for 14 days, which was extended by a fortnight. In January 2014, a 30-day parole was extended by another 30 days. In December 2014, he was granted a 14-day furlough. Since August 27, 2015, he is again out on a 14-day furlough.

While turning down the plea for pardon, the Governor followed the home department's advice, which, according to sources, was strongly in favour of rejecting it. The home department had recommended to the Governor that the plea for pardon be turned down as Dutt had been convicted by the highest court. Granting him pardon would set a bad precedent, it added.

Katju's plea to the president is also likely to meet the same fate as the Maharashtra home department has given the same recommendation to the President too.

Sources in the state government told Mumbai Mirror that Katju's plea was kept in the cold storage for a long time as Dutt's sister, Priya Dutt, was the Congress MP from north-west Mumbai at the time. The home department sat on the file and sent the proposal only after the new government was sworn in.

In his appeal, Katju had argued that Dutt was "not a terrorist" and had only erred. "The only charge on which Sanjay Dutt has been found guilty is the charge of having in his possession a prohibited weapon," he had said, adding that he was in no way questioning the Supreme Court verdict. He had written that though the imprisonment of five years for possessing the weapon was correct, Dutt had suffered enough after spending 18 months in jail before he was sentenced in March 2013 and thus would be a fit case for pardon.

"I prayed that until my pardon petition is disposed of respite should be granted because Article 72 not only empowers the President to grant pardon, it also empowers the President to grant respite or suspension of sentence. So, till the pardon petition is decided, I have prayed that the President should grant respite," Katju said.

Along with Dutt, Katju had also sought pardon for Zaibunnisa Kazi, another convict in the 1993 blasts case. Towards the fag end of a lengthy letter, Katju had written: "I am not appealing that Sanjay Dutt should be pardoned because he is a celebrity. I am also appealing for pardon to Zaibunnasa Kazi, co-accused who is not a celebrity."

Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; September 23, 2015)

When Sanjay Dutt walked out of Pune’s Yerwada jail on a month-long parole, he set tongues wagging about his frequent leave — the actor has been out of prison for around five months in two years. Faced with a barrage of criticism for ‘misusing’ his ‘status, influence and popularity’ as a Bollywood star, the actor is trying to keep a low profile this time round, claim sources. He has been spotted only twice since his parole period began.

Says a source, “Sanjay applied for parole in June citing ill-health of his daughter, Iqra. He wants to avoid the media at all costs. His frequent leaves of furlough have invited a lot of criticism from various quarters. Many felt that he was getting special treatment because of his status and clout.” The actor was seen on the sets of Sanjay Gupta’s Jazbaa and more recently, at Salman Khan’s Ganpati festivities. Dutt was lodged in prison in May 2013 after he surrendered before the TADA court following his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

A source close to Dutt, however, argues, “Sanju is not trying to fight shy of media attention. It was a conscious decision on his part to spend more time with family, especially the kids. He went out on a couple of occasions as it was necessary.”

In October 2013, Dutt was granted furlough for 14 days, which was extended by a fortnight. In January 2014, he was granted parole for 30 days, which was extended by 60 days. He was again granted a 14-day furlough in December 2014, which was not extended following massive criticism.

Dutt was unavailable for comment.

Meena Iyer (BOMBAY TIMES; August 8, 2015)

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; July 29, 2015)

Sanjay Dutt, who is currently lodged in Pune’s Yerwada jail, will spend some time with his wife Maanayata on the occasion of his 56th birthday today. Manyata will also be carrying birthday messages from their children, Iqra and Shahraan, as well as greetings from near and dear ones. Dutt is serving a 42-month sentence after he was convicted for illegal possession of weapons in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

Says a source close to the Dutts, “Manyata has been granted permission to meet him in the morning. As family members can meet jail inmates once a month, she decided to schedule it on his birthday. She will be flying to Pune instead of travelling by car, considering the recent roadblocks due to landslide on the Pune-Mumbai expressway.”

She will be carrying cards made by their kids as they wouldn’t be accompanying her, adds the source. “She will also surprise him with notes from close pals. The other jail inmates have planned a small celebration for him as well,” the insider reveals.

Dutt has spent his last two birthdays in the jail itself. He is likely to be a free bird by the end of this year.

Manyata was unavailable for comment.

Three filmmakers eagerly awaiting his return
Meena Iyer (BOMBAY TIMES; June 12, 2015)

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 11, 2015)

On February 11, 2008, Sanjay Dutt and his girlfriend of two years, Manyata, solemnised their marriage vows according to Hindu rites at her Versova residence. Seven years later, Manyata will surprise her husband at Pune's Yerwada jail, with an unannounced visit.

According to a source close to the couple, Manyata has meticulously planned this visit. "She is allowed to meet Sanjay once a month and shifted the dates around, applying for special permission, so they could be together today," informed the source. Last year, Sanjay was out on parole to be with his ailing wife and in 2013, Manyata had chartered a flight and with twins, Shahraan and Iqra, flown down to Rajasthan, where Sanjay was filming PK's Tharki Chokro. The year before, he'd flown down from the Bangkok shoot of Rascals to be with her.

Has she picked up a special gift for her husband? The source pointed out that Sanjay is not allowed gifts in prison. "But spending time together will be a priceless gift in itself for the couple."

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 9, 2015)

Sanjay Dutt, who was granted a 14-day furlough last December, reached Yerwada Central Jail in Pune on Thursday evening. And returned home a few hours later after he managed to get "deemed extension". He can stay home until the authorities decide on another date.

Confirming the same his lawyer, Rizwan Merchant, told Mirror, "The deemed extension arises based on a statement made by the Home Minister. He said surrender is not necessary until the police gives its report and the authorities decide on Dutt's furlough extension plea. We reached Yerwada and verified this with the authorities after which Sanjay decided to return home."

He explained that an application for another 14-day extension was filed before the expiry of the furlough. "If the jail authorities didn't want to extend it, they would have rejected it and written to us saying that he needs to surrender. This did not happen. They accepted our application and it is now under process. We've taken this as deemed extension."

Asked when the actor will return to prison, Merchant said it would be on the date the authorities decide upon. "It could be another two, five or even 14 days," he pointed out.

The actor had surrendered in May 2013 after Supreme Court upheld his conviction and sentence for illegal arms possession.

MUMBAI MIRROR (December 25, 2014)

Sanjay Dutt is out of prison on a two-week furlough and the actor had happiness writ large on his face as he made his way out from Yerwada Central Jail on Wednesday.

The grin was on when Dutt reached his Pali Hill residence and was met by a hoard of photographers. The newly-trim actor happily flashed his washboard abs upon request. "I have lost nearly 18 kilos. If I lose anymore weight, I will vanish," the actor revealed.

The 55-year-old has kept in touch with his filmmaker friends like Rohit Shetty and Rajkumar Hirani through letters and had boasted about his new '8-pack abs'.

And the chiselled abdomen is not all that he has worked upon all this while. "I have written as many as ten scripts and will start working on them soon," said Dutt.

When asked about his recurring stints outside prison he said: "I didn't get any special treatment. I had applied for furlough five months back".

Dutt is currently serving a five-year jail term for illegal possession of weapons in a case linked to the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. He is expected to return to prison on January 7.

MID-DAY (November 14,2014)

After playing a cop in Mardaani, Rani Mukerji was not only hailed for her performance but has also been in news for her efforts to reach out to the police department in various ways. After all, seldom do we come across a film featuring a policewoman who won’t give up. Looks like this role has certainly left a mark on the civic authorities for the actress was called for a prison event — something she had long promised to be part of.

She was invited by the Yerwada Central Jail authorities to launch a radio channel called Radio YCP for the prisoners as well as a brand named Maka for the products manufactured by jail interns.

Radio YCP is a radio-like facility for the prisoners where an hour of entertainment is provided with an inmate playing the role of radio jockey.

Rani visited the barracks, prison cells and even toured the jail where female prisoners intern. The actress was touched when the female prisoners told her about having watched her films. One of them even gifted her a crochet jacket.

As a token of her appreciation, Rani donated an ECG machine to the prison infirmary.

After the unveiling of the Maka, she shopped for some bakery products to take back home which were made by the prisoners.

The actress called it a humbling experience to visit the historic Yerawada prison where freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, Sardar Patel and others were lodged during the independence movement.
“I felt privileged to have gone to the cells where they spent many years of their life. I would thank Meeran (Borwankar) for inviting me to launch the brand Maka, which comprises a slew of products made by the prison inmates. It’s a great initiative aimed at their vocational training and also to keep them in a positive frame of mind,” she signed off.

Seema Sinha (BOMBAY TIMES; October 11, 2014)

MID-DAY (October 6, 2014)

If recent reports are to be believed, Sanjay Dutt, who is serving his three and a half year sentence at the Yerwada Central Jail in Pune, is suddenly getting flooded with mails from his colleagues in the film industry and we wonder why. Right from Ranbir Kapoor and Rajkumar Hirani to Bunty Walia and Sanjay Gupta, many of his coactors and filmmaker friends are writing letters aare are seem to writing to Sanju baba, even as he spends his time making paper bags in prison.

Says a source, “Many Bollywood folks are writing letters to the actor; they want him to know that he is being missed. Since sending letters is the only way to communicate with him, they have been sharing their thoughts on paper.”

Interestingly, it’s not just personal letters that are being exchanged, people from the industry are reportedly also discussing film scripts with the Munna Bhai MBBS actor. What’s more, some personal letters are said to have made his friends very emotional. At the same time, some other sources are skeptical about the wave of letters and the timing of it all. “It all seems a little absurd that all these stories about letters being exchanged with him have started doing the rounds only recently. It’s just a few months before the release of his film, PK, which is scheduled to hit the big screen in December this year,” says an industry source.

It may be pointed out that it all started when the actor reportedly wrote a letter addressed to Ajay Devgn when his film, Singham Returns, was nearing release. Sanjay apparently conveyed his best wishes to the actor and Ajay was reportedly moved to tears after reading the letter.

Next we hear that Sanjay Gupta wrote to Sanjay Dutt in what is being construed as an attempt to extend an olive branch. The two were once good friends but they had a falling out, so much so that they were not on talking terms. A source says that Gupta discussed a film script with the actor in his letter, though nothing more has been revealed about this letter.

Apart from this, there have been reports about Sanjay Dutt keeping in touch with wife Manyata by writing letters to her on a daily basis. The actor has apparently also written letters to director Rajkumar Hirani who he has worked with in several films (read: the Munna Bhai series). It is being said that the actor has been enquiring about his upcoming film, PK, and sources say that Hirani too was in tears after reading the letter.

“The actor gets to read only old newspapers in jail; he doesn’t have any other access to the outer world and its happenings except for writing and receiving letters,” says a source close to the actor.

It’s indeed interesting that for someone who has been away from the public glare due to his jail sentence, Sanjay Dutt continues to stay in the news.

His letters, for one, have piqued the curiosity of many. It remains to be seen whether this wave of letters will continue in the future too.

Garima Sharma (BOMBAY TIMES; September 25, 2014)

Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; September 20, 2014)

Sanjay Dutt, who has been sentenced to five years in jail by the Supreme Court for his involvement in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, has reportedly been allotted the job of making paper bags at the Yerwada Central Jail. What’s more, if the latest buzz is to be believed, the actor has just received a hike of Rs 15 per day.

Says a source, “Sanjay has been making paper bags right from the time he was sentenced to Yerwada jail in Pune and the actor used to earn Rs 25-30 per day, but after the state government recently revised the remuneration structure for convicts, Sanjay Dutt’s per day income has gone up by Rs 15.” The source adds that the actor has been assigned the task of making high quality, heavy-duty paper bags that can carry weight up to 6-8 kg. “He used to get Rs 25-30 per day for the same, but after the recent revision of wages, he will receive Rs 40-45 per day for the same job,” says the source.

It may be pointed out that the Maharashtra government has now decided to increase the wages of prisoners, after convicts in Gujarat, Karnataka and Tihar prisons recently got a hike. An official from Yerwada jail confirmed the story. “Yes, the wages were revised last month; Sanjay Dutt will now get a hike of Rs 15 per day,” said the official.