The Bond Between Mahesh Bhatt And Sanjay Dutt Grows Stronger With “Sadak 2"....

Ali Peter John

If there was one man who stood by Sanjay Dutt in his most cruel times, it was Mahesh Bhatt, if there was one man who had all the trust in Sanjay Dutt, the actor, it was Mahesh Bhatt and history is witness to their unusual bind growing stronger in spite of all the ups and downs in both their lives....

In a way, they started their lives in the most trying circumstances. Sanjay was a star-son, but had fallen a victim to drugs and to heavy drinking and could yet continue working in films, mainly because of the goodwill of his parents, Sunil Dutt and Nargis Dutt. Mahesh too had a problem with alcohol which was combined with a marriage gone wrong and his chasing one“guru"after another (Bhagwan Rajneesh and U.G Krishnamurthy among others and Sanjay was in search of himself....

In the midst of all these emotional turmoils, the two could create a record for themselves when Mahesh directed some of his best films with Sanjay as the hero. It all started with the former Silver Jubilee Star Rajendra Kumar's“Naam"in which Mahesh brought together the two star-sons of the time, Kumar Gaurav and Sanjay together in the film based on a story by Salim Khan who had just broken away from the team of Salim-Javed. The film which had the veteran actress Nutan in one of her farewell films turned out to be a masterpiece and the emotional turmoil it created made an impact on all those who saw the film and Amitabh Bachchan even sent bouquets and letters of congratulations to both Kumar Gaurav and Sanjay Dutt. It was not only appreciated, but had also been a success at the box-office.

Mahesh Bhatt almost got addicted to working with Sanjay and they together went on to make films like“Kabzaa",“Sadak",“Gumrah"and“Kartoos". The addiction could be felt in the fact that Bhatt had even written the screenplay of “Dushman"which had Sanjay Dutt and the film was directed by one of his assistants, Tanuja Chandra. And Bhatt and Sanjay even made special appearances, playing themselves in“C Kkompany", directed by Sachin Yardi....

It was“Gumrah", directed by Mahesh and produced by Yash Johar that changed life for Sanjay, something he was not even aware of while he was busy and happily shooting for the film in Mauritius with Sridevi in what Sanjay himself called “the most mind-blowing role any actress has played". One phone call from Bombay changed the whole track of Sanjay's life. In Bombay, the then Chief Minister, Sharad Pawar had promised Sunil Dutt that he would see that no harm came Sanjay's way if he immediately returned to Bombay from Mauritius. The innocent (some call it stupid) decision taken by both father and son led to their having a very heavy price. No sooner had Sanjay got out of the Air-Mauritius aircraft that the men from the Bombay police force went up to him, handcuffed him and the rest is one long chapter of misery and suffering emotionally and otherwise for Sanjay and all those who were close to him, his father, Sunil Dutt more than anyone else. Mahesh Bhatt also tried his best to be of help, but the Bombay blasts case and Sanjay's involvement in it had gone too far.... And Sanjay had to spend most of his time running between courts and jails. It was difficult to even think about his career during these trying times.

Interestingly, Mahesh who had made quite a name for himself as a director gave up direction, taking a vow that he would never direct a film again.

It is twenty years now. Sanjay has got over all the hell he had to go through for years and has even a biopic called“Sanju"to his name. What however is more interesting is the fact that Sanjay has been accepted as an actor once again. He has already done a couple of films, the last being Karan Johar's“Kalank"in which he was teamed with Madhuri Dixit after a gap of two decades.

And now, Mahesh has broken his vow not to direct and is directing a sequel to“Sadak", the original of which he had made almost twenty years ago and the man who has inspired him to take to direction again is Sanjay Dutt again and Mahesh is so excited about returning to direction that he has promised himself to make“Sadak2"his grand comeback film.

The shooting of“Sadak2"started without making any noise about it on May 19. It was like a first time experience for Mahesh Bhatt and moreover he was shooting with his friend and lucky mascot, Sanjay Dutt once again, something he could not even think of once. He is also excited about directing both his daughters, Pooja Bhatt and Alia Bhatt in the same film. Aditya Roy Kapur is the other actor in the film. But the one question Mahesh is not giving answers to easily is whether there will be the character of Maharani which was made memorable by the late actor, Sadashiv Amrapurkar.

The most interesting part of the beginning of the shooting of“Sadak2"is the reaction of Alia Bhatt to working with her father for the first time. She is“petrified"she tells everyone and adds after the first day of shooting, she said ,” Today is Day 1 of Sadak 2. And that’s my father, now also my director, holding the clap. I begin shoot in a few days and honestly, I’m petrified. I feel like a tiny mouse trying to climb a beautiful, immense, emotional mountain. I hope I make it to the top and if I fall I hope I’m able to get up again. It’s a tough climb but from everything I’ve seen and everything I’ve heard, I know every single step and misstep will be worth it! Here’s to movies, family, dreams and starting out on a brand NEW journey! And what a journey it’s going to be!!!!”

Incidentally, in the original “Sadak" Alia Bhatt's mother, Soni Razdan played Sanjay Dutt's sister who has a very murky life and dies a miserable death. Will she who has been showing interest in acting again have a role in this all-Bhatt and Sanjay Dutt saga?

For more Bollywood updates, follow Bollyy!

Tags: Bollywood, Bollywood News, Bollywood Updates, Television, Telly News, Sadak 2, Sanjay Dutt, Mahesh Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Pooja Bhatt