Sanjay

Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor and film producer who works primarily in Hindi cinema, and has also appeared in some Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Marathi and Punjabi films. He has acted in over 135 films. Known for his versatile roles, style, and intensity, he has often portrayed flawed heroes on screen. Dutt has received awards such as two Filmfare Awards, three Screen Award...

Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor and film producer who works primarily in Hindi cinema, and has also appeared in some Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Marathi and Punjabi films. He has acted in over 135 films. Known for his versatile roles, style, and intensity, he has often portrayed flawed heroes on screen. Dutt has received awards such as two Filmfare Awards, three Screen Awards and a Global Indian Film Award. Part of the Dutt family, he is the son of actor-politicians Sunil Dutt and Nargis. Dutt made his acting debut with Rocky (1981), directed by his father. A career slump followed, with notable exceptions being Vidhaata (1982), Naam (1986), Hathyar (1989) and Thanedaar (1990). He emerged a major star in 1991 with Saajan and Sadak and had further hits with Adharm (1992), Gumrah (1993), Khalnayak (1993) and Aatish (1994). Following another setback, Dutt appeared in commercially successful ventures, such as Dushman (1998), Daag: The Fire (1999), Haseena Maan Jaayegi (1999), Vaastav: The Reality (1999), Khoobsurat (1999), Mission Kashmir (2000), Kurukshetra (2000), Jodi No. 1 (2001), Kaante (2002), Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003), Dus (2005), Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007), Dhamaal (2007), All the Best (2009), Double Dhamaal (2011), Agneepath (2012), Son of Sardaar (2012), PK (2014), KGF: Chapter 2 (2022), Leo (2023), Dhurandhar (2025) and Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026), which emerged as his highest-grossing release. In April 1993, Dutt was arrested under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and the Arms Act, and was later convicted under the Arms Act for possession of illegal weapons, including Type 56 rifles, procured from others accused in the 1993 Bombay bombings. He was sentenced to five years in prison, and after periods of bail, completed his sentence in 2016. Dutt's life has been the subject of considerable media coverage in India, and in 2018, Sanju, a biopic based on his life, starring Ranbir Kapoor as Dutt; the film was one of the highest-grossers of Indian cinema. Early life Sanjay Dutt was born in Bombay, Bombay State (now Mumbai, Maharashtra), to Hindi cinema actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis Dutt. He studied at The Lawrence School, Sanawar, and later at Elphinstone College, Mumbai. Born to a Hindu father and a Muslim mother, Dutt's ancestry through his father and maternal grandfather traces back to the Rawalpindi Division of western Punjab (in present-day Pakistan), with his paternal village being Khurd in Jhelum District. His paternal family resettled in the small village of Mandauli on the bank of the river Yamuna, located in the Yamunanagar District of East Punjab (now in Haryana) after the Hindu-Muslim violence across the country, following the partition of India in 1947. Dutt is the maternal grandson of Jaddanbai from Benares, who came from a family of tawaifs (courtesans) with ancestral links to the Mughal court, and worked as a director, producer, actress, also being among the earliest female music composers in Hindi cinema. Through Jaddanbai, Dutt is the nephew of character actor Anwar Hussain, Nargis's half-brother. Through his father, Dutt belongs to the Hussaini Brahmin community, which reveres Imam Hussain and is traditionally said to have participated in the battle of Karbala; the community's syncretist identity as "half-Hindu and half-Muslim" is reported to have made them a target during the 1947 partition of India riots. Dutt has two sisters, Priya Dutt, a politician, and Namrata Dutt, who is married to actor Kumar Gaurav, the son of actor Rajendra Kumar. Dutt's given name was chosen by crowdsourcing via the Urdu-language film magazine Shama. His mother died in 1981, shortly before the premiere of his debut film; her death has been cited in accounts of the onset of his drug use. Dutt made his acting debut as a child, playing a qawali singer in his father's film Reshma Aur Shera (1971). Career Breakthrough (1981–1989) Dutt made his Bollywood film debut with Rocky (1981). He then appeared in Vidhaata—the highest-grossing Hindi film of 1982—alongside Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, and Sanjeev Kumar, and in Main Awara Hoon (1983) and Zameen Aasmaan (1984). In 1985, he shot Jaan Ki Baazi, his first release in two years. The film Naam (1986) is described by commentators as a turning point in Dutt's career and was a critical and commercial success. During the late 1980s, he appeared in box-office hits including Imaandaar, Inaam Dus Hazaar (1987), Jeete Hain Shaan Se (1988), Mardon Wali Baat (1988), Ilaaka (1989), Hum Bhi Insaan Hain (1989), Kanoon Apna Apna (1989), and Taaqatwar (1989). His performances in Kabzaa (1988) and J. P. Dutta's Hathyar (1989) were both well received by critics; trade sources classify both films as having average box-office returns. In the same period, he appeared in multi-starrer projects with actors including Govinda, Mithun, Dharmendra, Jackie Shroff, and Sunny Deol. Rise to prominence (1990–1993) In the early 1990s, Dutt's releases include Tejaa (1990), Khatarnaak (1990), Zahreelay, (1990) Thanedaar (1990), Khoon Ka Karz (1991), Yalgaar (1992), Gumrah (1993), Sahibaan (1993), and Aatish: Feel the Fire (1994). He also starred in Sadak (1991), Saajan (1991), and Khalnayak (1993); he received nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for Saajan and Khalnayak. The Hindu wrote that "Dutt's earlier films (like Naam and Sadak) got him a lot of favourable attention", and "Saajan established Dutt as the conventional soft hero." Saajan was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 1991, and Sadak ranked fifth. Khalnayak was the second-highest-grossing film of 1993. This was followed by another box office success Gumrah, this was Dutt's second consecutive hit that year. Arrest and later career (1993–1998) In March 1993, Bombay (now Mumbai) experienced a series of bombings later attributed to organised crime and terrorist networks. Dutt was among several Bollywood figures charged in connection with the case; prosecutors alleged that Dutt received weapons at his residence from Abu Salem and co-accused Riyaz Siddiqui as part of a consignment linked to those involved in the bombings. In his confession, Dutt stated that he had obtained a single Type-56 rifle from the producers of the movie Sanam, for family protection. Reports suggest that his father Sunil Dutt's political activity influenced how the case proceeded. Dutt's first film after his 1993 arrest was Daud (1997); trade sources describe its box-office results as average. He followed this with Dushman (1998) which performed well commercially. Resurgence (1999–2002) 1999 was an excellent year for Dutt and one that is regarded as his comeback, with all of his five releases being among the highest-grossing films of that year. He began it by starring in the Mahesh Bhatt-directed film Kartoos, followed by Khoobsurat, Haseena Maan Jaayegi, Daag: The Fire and Vaastav: The Reality, for which he won many awards, including his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor. His role in 2000's Mission Kashmir won him critical acclaim and a number of awards and nominations, including his fourth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Dutt was also invited by the President of India to Rashtrapati Bhavan for his performance in the film. As the decade went on, he continued to play lead roles in critical and commercial successes such as Jodi No.1 (2001), Pitaah (2002) and Kaante (2002), which earned him his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Munna Bhai and transition to supporting roles (2003–2014) He played the lead role in the National Award-winning film Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003), which garnered him several awards, including his first Filmfare Award for Best Comedian. At the box office, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. achieved a silver jubilee status (25-week run) being one of only eight films to have achieved this status since the year 2000. In its 26th week of release, the film could still be found playing on 257 screens throughout India. Later successes came with Musafir (2004), Plan (2004), Parineeta (2005), which earned him his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor, and Dus (2005). He also won critical acclaim for his performances in Shabd (2005) and Zinda (2006). The sequel of Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., Lage Raho Munna Bhai was released on 1 September 2006, for which Dutt received a number of awards, along with an award from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his work in the Munna Bhai series. NDTV India counted the character Munna Bhai as one of top 20 fictional characters in Bollywood. Dutt earned his fifth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film. In January 2008, the Indian film Institute Filmfare listed 12 films featuring Dutt in its list of the top 100 highest-grossing movies of all time. In its May 2013 edition "100 years of Indian cinema", Filmfare listed three films featuring Dutt in its top 20 list of highest-grossing Hindi films of all time, adjusted for inflation these films were Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Khalnayak and Saajan. Later, Dutt starred in other successful movies like Dhamaal (2007), Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007), All the Best (2009), Double Dhamaal (2011), Son of Sardaar (2012) Agneepath (2012) and PK (2014). Career expansion in supporting roles (2016–present) Vidhu Vinod Chopra on 29 September 2016 announced that the third part of Munna Bhai series, starring Dutt in the title role, would begin soon. However, as of 2024, production on the film has still not commenced. In 2017, following his return to prison in 2013 to serve the remainder of his sentence and his release in 2016, Dutt appeared as the lead in Bhoomi, directed by Omung Kumar. In 2018, he starred in Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3. On 29 June 2018, his biopic Sanju released in which he made a special appearance. He then produced and starred in Prassthanam, which released on 20 September 2019. Due to the COVID pandemic, Dutt then had four OTT releases. First was Sadak 2, a sequel to his 1991 film Sadak, co starring Alia Bhatt and Aditya Roy Kapur. The trailer for the film became the most disliked trailer of all time, with fans critical of nepotism following the death of Sushant Singh Rajput. The film was universally panned and some claimed it to be one of the worst films in Dutt's career. Then came Netflix release Torbaaz, an action thriller set in Afghanistan. His 2021 release Bhuj: The Pride of India, which featured an ensemble cast consisting of Ajay Devgn, Sonakshi Sinha and Nora Fatehi, also received negative reviews. However, in 2022, Dutt appeared in Toolsidas Junior, a sports drama which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. Also in 2022, Dutt made his debut in Kannada cinema as Adheera, the main antagonist in K.G.F: Chapter 2, the sequel to the blockbuster Kannada film, K.G.F: Chapter 1. The movie was a financial success. However, his other 2022 theatrical releases were financial flops - the period epic Shamshera, directed by Karan Malhotra and starring Ranbir Kapoor, in which he again played a key antagonist, and Samrat Prithviraj alongside Akshay Kumar. In 2023, Dutt performed a cameo in Shah Rukh Khan starrer Jawan and played a key antagonist in Lokesh Kanagaraj's Leo (2023) alongside Vijay, making his debut in Tamil cinema. Both were huge financial successes. In 2024, he reunited with Raveena Tandon in the digital film Ghudchadi and made his Telugu cinema debut with Puri Jagannadh's Double iSmart, which was a box office debacle. In 2025, he returned to lead roles, playing the lead in The Bhootnii, which was poorly received and failed at the box office. He next appeared in Housefull 5 in 2025 as Chief Inspector Baba. The film was a commercial success. In the same year, he starred in Baaghi 4 alongside Tiger Shroff, playing the main antagonist. Critics noted that Dutt's role was too brief for him to make an impact. T