Sunil
Dutt was one of God’s great gifts to humanity. He was undoubtedly one of the most acclaimed and talented Bollywood actors of all
times, a
compassionate human being, social activist and politician. He wore
many hats and excelled in the plethora of roles that came his way - both on and
off screen.
Born as ‘Balraj Dutt’ on 6th June
1930, in the village of Khurd, in Jhelum district which is now in Pakistan, he
lost his father when he was only five and his mother at 23. Life had taken him
through the trauma of partition. After partition, his family moved to Mandoli,
a small village on the bank of river Yamuna, which is now a part of the Yamuna
Nagar district of Haryana. A few years later, Dutt moved to Mumbai, to fulfill
his long cherished dream of acting. There, he gained admission in Jai Hind
College, as an undergraduate, and also took up a job.
He started his career as an announcer
on the Hindi Service of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia.
From there, he moved on to films, debuting in the film industry with the movie
‘Railway Platform’, released in 1955. The next year, he was seen in ‘Ek Hi
Raasta’. The first big hit came Dutt’s way was ‘Mother India’ (1957) the film in which he co-starred with Nargis, as
her short-tempered son. During the shooting of the film, a fire erupted at the
sets. It is said that Dutt saved Nargis from the fire and won her love.
Dutt was one of the stars reigning
over Bollywood in the 1950s and 1960s. He appeared in a number of box-office
hits, including ‘Sadhna’ (1958), ‘Sujata’ (1959), ‘Mujhe Jeene Do’ (1963),
‘Khandaan’ (1965) and ‘Padosan’ (1967). During this time, he also did a number
of films with B.R. Chopra and ended up delivering hits like ‘Gumraah’ (1963),
‘Waqt’ (1965) and ‘Hamraaz’ (1967). One of the most memorable films of Dutt, as
a director and actor, is ‘Yaadein’ (1964), a unique movie in which he was the
only actor in the cast.
Dutt tried his hands on production
with his first film being ‘Man Ka Meet’ (1968), in which he introduced his
brother Som Dutt. His next venture came in ‘1971’, when he produced, directed
and starred in the big-budget period film ‘Reshma Aur Shera’ (1971). The movie
turned out to be a huge failure at the box office. However, this did not deter
Dutt and he was seen in a number of successful films, like ‘Pran Jaye Par
Vachan Na Jaye’ (1974), ‘Nagin’ (1976), ‘Jaani Dushman’ (1979) and ‘Shaan’
(1980). Dutt also starred in Punjabi religious movies, in the 1970's, including
‘Man Jeete Jag Jeet’ (1973), ‘Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam’ (1974), and ‘Sat Sri
Akal’ (1977). In 1981, he appeared in ‘Rocky’ (1981), the movie which served as
the launching pad of his son, Sanjay Dutt’s career. From ‘Rocky’ onwards, Dutt
started appearing as a character actor. Amongst his last films were ‘Parampara’
(1992) and ‘Kshatriya’ (1993). Thereafter, he retired from the film industry.
His last screen cameo was in Rajkumar Hirani's immensely popular laugh riot
'Munnabhai MBBS', where he played on-screen father to his son Sanjay.
In 1982, he was appointed as the
Sheriff of Mumbai, an apolitical titular position. The position was bestowed on
him by Maharashtra government, for the period of one year. Dutt contested his first Lok Sabha elections
after the assassination of Mrs. Indira Gandhi in 1984. He was a personal choice
of the late Rajiv Gandhi. Winning the Mumbai North West
seat in his maiden attempt he retained it in the 1989 and 1991 elections. However, the arrest of his son, following Hindu-Muslim clashes
in Mumbai, put a brief break on it He did not contest the 1996 and 1998 elections as
he was preoccupied with a case against his son Sanjay by the Mumbai police. He
won the 1999, 2000 and 2004 elections. After U.P.A.-I came
to power in 2004; Dutt became the cabinet minister for Youth Affairs and Sports
(2004-2005). As a minister, he not
only had time to hear the plight of sportspersons, he also made a concerted
effort to improve the standard of Indian athletes by taking up several
initiatives. His death, on 25th May
2005, put an end to his term as a cabinet minister.
Sunil Dutt got married to actress
Nargis on 11th March 1958, one year after the release of their
film ‘Mother India’. The couple had a son and two daughters. He helped Nargis to form the Ajanta Arts Cultural Troupe,
which roped in several leading actors and singers of the time, and performed at
remote frontiers to entertain the Indian soldiers; it was the first troupe to
perform at Dhaka, after the Indo-Pakistani
War of 1971 and the
formation of Bangladesh. Later when Nargis worked for the cause of spastic children the role of Dutt was unforgettable. Nargis
became the first patron ofThe
Spastics Society of India. But soon she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and underwent treatment for the disease at Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Upon her return to
India, her condition deteriorated, and she was admitted to Breach Candy
Hospital in Mumbai. She sank into a coma on 2 May 1981 and died on 3 May 1981.
After the death of Nargis, he set up
a foundation in memory of his wife. The foundation is indulged in cure of
cancer patients. During his life, Dutt also sponsored the India Project, a
Nobel Peace Prize-nominated organization similar to Operation Smile. It is
involved in the treatment of Indian children with facial deformities. Besides
being a big supporter of secularism, he was totally against the concept of
dowry and it is said that he told his wife to come in the same dress that she
wore during the wedding to his house. He also made a film "Yeh Aag Kab
Bujhegi" on this topic
Dutt
received Film-fare Best Actor Award, for Mujhe Jeene Do in 1963, for Khandaan
in 1965, for Milan in 1967. In 1995 Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, in 1998
Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award, in 2001 Zee Cine Award for Lifetime
Achievement and in 2005 Phalke Ratna Award, by the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy
were bestowed to him. He was awarded with the Padma Shri, India's fourth
highest civilian award, by Government of India and received the "Glory of
India Award", by IIAF, London
Fate seemed to have meted out a never ending spate of tragedies in Dutt's life, but bitterness and self pity seemed to find no place in his soul, in spite of his receiving one shattering blow after another. All tragedies failed to deter the man from following his first love -- cinema -- and he served the community through politics. After his wife's death, he lost himself in politics and his involvement in it was complete. When Dutt spoke about the country, he spoke selflessly from the heart. He can perhaps, best be described in his own words while quoting the philosophy of the Bhagvad Gita. 'You are just expected to perform your duties and not expect any rewards. As a citizen of India, I am concerned with giving my best’.
