Exclusive: ‘That Wild Phase Is Over’

Sanjay Dutt is 66 on July 29. He is in no mood to party. And certainly in no mood to be reminded of his age. “I don’t feel my age at all. I am still as agile and fit as I used to be twenty years ago. In-between, I used to booze a lot. But that wild phase has ended long back. For me an ideal evening of pleasure is to spend  time with my wife and my children. They don’t only complete my world, they define it.”

He describes his wife Manyata as “the best thing to happen” to him. 

“Maanayata is my anchor, my soul mate. My days of instability ended the day she walked in.” He gets emotional.

I ask him how his marriage has remained steadfast when other marriages are breaking up all around . “I don’t know about others. But my marriage is stable because I don’t take my wife for granted, ever.”

Would he like his twin children to be part of the film industry? “Right now Iqra and Shehran are too young to know what they want to do in their life. But they are free to make their choices. If they want to be actors, I would be the happiest. After all, I am an industry ka bachcha. My parents (Sunil Dutt and Nargis) were legendary actors. I have made a name for myself. If my children become actors, that would be the third generation of Dutts in the film industry. And that would be cool.”