“I SUGGEST THAT RANBIR KAPOOR SHOULD BE CAST IN DUTTSAAB’S ROLE INSTEAD OF ME, BECAUSE THE ROLE NEEDS A YOUNG ROMANTIC HERO, IF PADOSAN IS REMADE NOW”

Today is Sanjay Dutt’s 61st birthday. We wish him a happy birthday by reproducing this interview taken almost ten years ago of SANJAY DUTT by JYOTHI VENKATESH who knows him right from the time he had made his debut with the film Rocky

What is your role in Chatur Singh Two Star?

I play the role of a police officer who feels that he is doing the right things and he is the biggest detective. I play a stupid character, who will be instantly liked by families as well as kids, because though Chatur isn’t at all doing comedy but what he does becomes comedy. Though it is based on a novel called Chaalaak Jasoos, director Ajay Chandok has made a lot of changes in the original subject. Ameesha Patel plays my leading lady in the film. No.  It is not a rip off of the Pink Panther series because not even a single film in the series has clicked in India and it will be a futile exercise to copy the franchise.

Did you prepare for your part?

You have known me right from the time I had started my career as an actor with Rocky. Have you seen me preparing for my part any time? I just enjoyed doing the role and had a blast, because Suresh Menon, who is playing my chela in the film, is a fantastic actor. The only preparation that I did for the role of Chatur was to put on weight. In fact, it became quite a problem for me to lose my weight but I did succeed in losing 20 kgs.

How?

For almost six months, I did not touch even a drop of alcohol or for that matter even salt and survived on boiled grilled fish, boiled chicken, boiled vegetable etc

How happy are you with the kind of roles that you are offered these days?

As an actor, I am of the opinion that I have to move on in my career and not have the illusion that I will be able to play the role of the college boy in every film that I get. I have to accept stark reality today. I am 51 today and can just not play the college student in every film of mine or dance around the trees with beautiful young girls

Okay let’s come to brass tacks. In that case, why did you refuse to play Salman Khan’s father in Bodyguard?

I do not deny at all that Salman Khan who is a very dear friend of mine and like family to me, had  requested me to play the role of his father in his film Bodyguard, because he needed me to step in when another actor refused to be part of the project. Though he told me that it was just a cameo role I politely declined to do the same because I was not at all comfortable with the idea of doing the role of his father, especially since I am just elder to him by a few years. I am not at all averse to doing guest appearances. I did a guest appearance in his film Ready. Didn’t I? Didn’t I play the role of Minissha Lamba’s father in Kidnap?

Is it true that you are stepping into Salman Khan’s shoes in the reality show Dus ka Dum to go on air on Sony shortly?

It is just a false rumor that I am now going to replace Salman Khan as the host of the reality show ‘Dus Ka Dum’ on Sony. Salman Khan will continue to be the host since he has done a damn good job as the host for the show.

Would you also deny that you are going to co-host Bigg Boss on Colors with Salman Khan?

I just shot for the promos of the show with Salman, a day after I had hosted my wife Manyata’s birthday party at my place, though we partied till the wee hours of the morning.

How would you cope with the task of being a co-host in a show like Bigg Boss?

 Salman would be my co-host only for the first two episodes of the show in the beginning when it goes on air on COLORS. After the first two episodes, I would take over as the friend, philosopher and guide of the inmates of the Big Boss‘s house.

Do you think actors are unfit to be in politics?

Whether it was Amitji or Govinda or I, we actors are basically emotional fools whereas in politics you need to be shrewd to the core. We actors cannot perform on the stage unless and until we are given the dialogues in advance because we tend to work only as per the script.

Why did you then join politics?

When I decided to join the Samajwadi party, Amar Singh, was not a Minister or a politician but a dear family friend. I consider him even today as my big brother, though in U.P, every person is a politician. I remember the first time he asked me to go on the stage and give a bhashan, I told him that I was an actor who needed dialogues. He told me I should tell a shairi just to give a dose to Mayawatiji and wrote a shairi for me in chaste Urdu. Then he told me that I should tell the audience about Gandhiji’s three monkeys. However before my turn came, when Amarji went on stage, he coolly stole all my lines. He not only ‘sunaoed’ the shairi but also told the audience about Gandhiji’s three monkeys, forgetting that he himself had asked me to tell that. I realized that I was not at all cut out for politics.

Do you still dream of remaking Padosan with you playing the role that your father Duttsaab did in the original?

There were some plans to make the film sometime back, though as of now there is no plan. If at all, if some producer is ready to remake the film, I suggest that Ranbir Kapoor should be cast in Duttsaab’s role instead of me, because the role needs a young romantic hero. I would be only too happy playing the role that Kishore Kumar did in the film.

Why did you not invite Shah Rukh Khan to your wife’s birthday party?

I did a guest appearance in Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra One, because he requested me to do so. It is wrong to say that I did not invite Shah Rukh Khan to my wife’s birthday party, because I had invited Shah Rukh Khan. The media lies blatantly to pit one actor against the other. I did invite him but he could not attend my party because he was not free that day but then he did come to my house the next day. 

If you are a good friend of both Salman and Shah Rukh Khan, why don’t you try to make them forget their fight and patch up with each other?

Who am I to ask Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan to forget their fight and patch up? I believe that each one should have his own space and do not feel that I have the right to intrude in their personal space, since I would not like any of them to intrude in my personal space.

You have worked on quite a few memorable films with your friend Raj N Sippy. Is there any plan to do a film now with him?

I have fond memories of the time when Daddu Sippy and I were working together in some memorable and not memorable films. I am now giving a break to Daddu’s young son Sameer Sippy, as a director. Sameer will direct me in his debut film Lallu Panju. While I will be playing the role of Panju, Ajay will be playing the role of Lallu. Needless to mention, Lallu Panju will be an out and out comedy cum action film

Is there any plan to take up direction, like your father did?

Frankly, till date, I have not at all thought of taking up direction, because I am not fascinated by the idea of direction, though I am open to producing films. After I complete Rascals, I am also planning to make a film with Rohit Shetty after he completes Bol Bachchan with Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan

Which film of your dad would you like to remake with yourself in his role?

I’d give my right arm to produce and act in a film like Mujhe Jeene Do, which I feel was my father’s all time best film

Would you like to do Mother India too?

No. It would be blasphemy on my part to even try to make a film like Mother India. I just cannot at all measure up to my father’s sterling performance in the film as Birju.

Which are your forthcoming films?

After Chatur Singh Two Star directed by Ajay Chandok, watch out for my films like Karan Johar’s Agneepath, Ramgopal Verma’sDepartment, Kabir Kaushik’s Zilla Ghaziabad and my own production Rascals. It is a typical David Dhawan film which you should come to watch after leaving your brains behind at home

Which are your five best films as an actor till date?

Undoubtedly I would name Naam, Khal Naayak, Munnabhai MBBS, Sadak and Saajan as my five best films as an actor till date.

How would you evaluate yourself today?

You learn from every film that you do. Today when I watch some of my old films, I wonder how I ended up performing so badly as an actor. However, all said and done, I would say that I have no regrets at all as far as life is concerned, though I have undergone some harrowing moments, since today , besides the fact that there is no animosity between me and my dear sisters, not only do I get good work but also have a good wife who dotes on me and two cute little children Shahraan and Iqra who are the apples of my eye. I couldn’t have asked for more!