Life has not been particularly smooth for Sanjay Dutt. After the jail ordeal he had to face, the actor is back in business and has many movies lined ahead of him. In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, the actor discussed life in jail and his upcoming films, at length.
He said:
When I was in jail, I read the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana and the Puranas, used buckets and clothes lines to work out, learnt Marathi and how to make paper bags. I also worked at the radio station and in the natak mandali in jail where I taught 60-70 convicts serving out life sentences to mouth dialogues, sing, dance and express themselves through skits.
Reportedly, the Munnabhai actor fostered his passion for acting during his period in jail, by training his inmates. A cultural function was conducted after six months for the same, to which filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani was invited. The prisoners turned emotional when Hirani lauded their efforts and they promised to change for the better. In fact, Sanjay said that most of his inmates were not necessarily criminals but committed a crime “in the heat of the moment”.
I made a mistake too. I should have been more responsible, but I was young then. I paid for it and now, finally, it’s behind me. Every citizen should know the law because once you are in jail, no amount of money can buy you back your freedom. It’s a big relief that I’m not branded a terrorist and an anti-national thanks to the SC’s judgement. My father who had passed away by then, would have been happy. Today, after coming out of jail, I realize people respect me because I didn’t run away. I served my sentence like a man and came out like a man, with dignity.
We cannot wait to see him back on screen!