Thank God, action is back: Sanjay Dutt
By Hindustan Times
Life has come full circle for Sanjay Dutt, currently basking in the success of his film Son of Sardaar, which has hit the Rs. 100 crore mark. More than 30 years ago, the actor had made his debut with action films, and now action as a genre seems to be back again.
“All those action films I did then
are the kind of films happening now,” Sanjay tells us in an interview. “Thank God they’re back now.”
You said action films are your favourite. But does age affect the kind of action you do?
Sanjay: Every actor has to move on. Things get different with time and you start getting characters that have action that suits you. Age doesn’t make a big difference, though.
While we’re on that, how do you keep fit?
Sanjay: I work out a lot. I had put on weight in between, but my fans told me they couldn’t see me like that. I had to make a choice.
How do you manage to keep your audiences in awe of you?
Sanjay: The man I look up to is Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan). His persona, aura, the movies he does and transition, are all so fantastic. That’s the person I’ve looked at and I’ve moved according to him. Also, I believe in commercial cinema. You can do offbeat movies sometimes, but you can’t move away from the commercial genre. There has to be visibility. Even if you got to Chennai, people should know who you are.
You’re doing Karan Johar’s Unglee and also Zilla Ghaziabad. Tell us something about them.
Sanjay: Unglee has a very good script and the director, Rensil D’Silva, is fabulous. As for Zilla Ghaziabad, I’m playing a real-life character, a police officer who is called in to control the gangs in Ghaziabad. It’s an out-and-out action film with a lot of mad, south-inspired action sequences.
What type of character is closest to you?
Sanjay: I love action the most. As of now, romance isn’t in my book. Or maybe a mature love story. Action and comedy are my genres now.
You’re still perceived as Munna Bhai. Is Munna Bhai 3 ever going to happen?
Sanjay: I hope it does happen. I want to tell Raju (Hirani) to please start working on it now. Honestly, Raju’s ideas for the Munna Bhai series have been fantastic. Just look at the message he has sen to everyone — a gangster reviving Gandhiji. Today’s kids don’t know Gandhiji. He got it back in a beautiful way without boring the audience. He’s one of the greatest directors the country has currently.
Five Favourites
Sanjay Dutt picks five of his all time favourite films and the roles he’s enjoyed playing the most
1. Sadak (1991)
2. Naam (1986)
3. Khalnayak (1993)
4. Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003)
5. Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006)
Sanjay’s new venture
Raj Kundra and Sanjay Dutt, co-founders of the Super Fight League (SFL) have tied up with Provogue for a new company called Pro SFL to jointly market all SFL merchandise.
“We will bring our fans great products with the first one being deodarants,” says Sanjay. Kundra adds, “This tie up will give SFL the opportunity to give fans in India and abroad quality merchandise. We will be using out-of-the-box marketing methods such as fighter shorts, cheer girls, cage branding, banners etc. The deodorant market is huge in India and we have started with three types called Aspire, Inspire and Desire.”
Life has come full circle for Sanjay Dutt, currently basking in the success of his film Son of Sardaar, which has hit the Rs. 100 crore mark. More than 30 years ago, the actor had made his debut with action films, and now action as a genre seems to be back again.
“All those action films I did then
are the kind of films happening now,” Sanjay tells us in an interview. “Thank God they’re back now.”
You said action films are your favourite. But does age affect the kind of action you do?
Sanjay: Every actor has to move on. Things get different with time and you start getting characters that have action that suits you. Age doesn’t make a big difference, though.
While we’re on that, how do you keep fit?
Sanjay: I work out a lot. I had put on weight in between, but my fans told me they couldn’t see me like that. I had to make a choice.
How do you manage to keep your audiences in awe of you?
Sanjay: The man I look up to is Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan). His persona, aura, the movies he does and transition, are all so fantastic. That’s the person I’ve looked at and I’ve moved according to him. Also, I believe in commercial cinema. You can do offbeat movies sometimes, but you can’t move away from the commercial genre. There has to be visibility. Even if you got to Chennai, people should know who you are.
You’re doing Karan Johar’s Unglee and also Zilla Ghaziabad. Tell us something about them.
Sanjay: Unglee has a very good script and the director, Rensil D’Silva, is fabulous. As for Zilla Ghaziabad, I’m playing a real-life character, a police officer who is called in to control the gangs in Ghaziabad. It’s an out-and-out action film with a lot of mad, south-inspired action sequences.
What type of character is closest to you?
Sanjay: I love action the most. As of now, romance isn’t in my book. Or maybe a mature love story. Action and comedy are my genres now.
You’re still perceived as Munna Bhai. Is Munna Bhai 3 ever going to happen?
Sanjay: I hope it does happen. I want to tell Raju (Hirani) to please start working on it now. Honestly, Raju’s ideas for the Munna Bhai series have been fantastic. Just look at the message he has sen to everyone — a gangster reviving Gandhiji. Today’s kids don’t know Gandhiji. He got it back in a beautiful way without boring the audience. He’s one of the greatest directors the country has currently.
Five Favourites
Sanjay Dutt picks five of his all time favourite films and the roles he’s enjoyed playing the most
1. Sadak (1991)
2. Naam (1986)
3. Khalnayak (1993)
4. Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003)
5. Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006)
Sanjay’s new venture
Raj Kundra and Sanjay Dutt, co-founders of the Super Fight League (SFL) have tied up with Provogue for a new company called Pro SFL to jointly market all SFL merchandise.
“We will bring our fans great products with the first one being deodarants,” says Sanjay. Kundra adds, “This tie up will give SFL the opportunity to give fans in India and abroad quality merchandise. We will be using out-of-the-box marketing methods such as fighter shorts, cheer girls, cage branding, banners etc. The deodorant market is huge in India and we have started with three types called Aspire, Inspire and Desire.”
