ACTOR
Sanjay Dutt
- Known for
- Sadak 2 (2020), Shamshera (2022), Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Samrat Prithviraj (2022)
49 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Sanjay Dutt is an actor best known for Sadak 2, Shamshera and Lage Raho Munna Bhai.
49 Interesting Facts About Sanjay Dutt
Interesting Facts (31)
- #001
As a child, Sanjay Dutt was kidnapped by dacoits on the set of Mujhe Jeene Do and returned unharmed a day later.
- #002
Sanjay Dutt is a big WWF/WWE and UFC fan and in 2011 tried to start an MMA company in India.
- #003
- #004
In 1983 Sanjay Dutt briefly dated Dev Anand's daughter Devina, who was trying to get him off drugs. He'd take her out in his imported cars, which infuriated Dev, and in the end they split for reasons unknown.
- #005
Sanjay Dutt was in R. K. Nayyar Films' "Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai" (1990), with Madhuri Dixit, Shakti Kapoor, Kader Khan, Tej Sapru and Mangal Dhillon, music by Laxmikant Pyarelal, produced by R. K. Nayyar and directed by Sameer Malkan (later by Nayyar himself); it was shelved after Sadhana and her husband had a major fight with Dutt's secretary.
- #006
In 2002 Sanjay Dutt starred with Tejaswini Kholapure in Sudhir Mishra's shelved "Ek Raat Achanak," written by Anurag Kashyap, which was finally made in 2023 as Kennedy.
- #007
Sanjay Dutt was set for Sanjay Gupta's thriller Jazbaa with Arjun Rampal, Fardeen Khan, Aftab Shivdasani and Suniel Shetty, to start shooting in Chicago, USA, in August 2007, but his legal troubles and falling-out with Gupta ended the project.
- #008
Ek Ajeeb/Anokhi Prem Kahani: producer Jhannu Sugandh and director Mahesh Manjrekar planned this bilingual film, an unusual love story between a blind girl and a disfigured man (Kareena Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt). Both stars talked about it in interviews in 2000 and 2001, but it was later cancelled. Manjrekar said, "I had a script with Kareena Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt about a blind girl and a deformed man called Ek Anokhi Prem Kahani. I can't make these kinds of films in Hindi," though apparently he still hasn't entirely given up on it.
- #009
Raj Kumar Santoshi, who had always wanted to work with Sanjay Dutt, finally agreed with him on a film of Asghar Wajahat's play Jis Lahore Ni Vekhya O Jammiya Nahin (one who hasn't seen Lahore hasn't truly been born), about Partition and its effect on relationships, to be shot in Hyderabad. Santoshi told him the story on the set of Anil Kapoor's Kisakut and Dutt agreed at once; he was to play a Muslim in a "very powerful role," with Neil Nitin Mukesh, Vidya Balan, Neha Uberoi and even Salman Khan in talks to co-star, but it never happened. (In November 2008 Mid-Day reported a Santoshi project for SDP with Neha Uberoi and Akshaye Khanna, possibly the same one.)
- #010
Sanjay Dutt was to star with Aftab Shivdasani and Reema Sen in Dost - My Best Friend, launched in 2004 by his former secretary turned producer Pankej Kharbanda, written and to be directed by Veena Bakshi. It told of a six-year-old girl separated from her family in India who turns up in Romania, apparently kidnapped, and meets Sanjay, who helps her get home. The first scenes shot in Romania didn't satisfy Kharbanda, and what became of the project after that is unknown.
- #011
Sanjay Dutt was in Choodiyaan, announced in the early 1990s with producer Sunderdas Sonkia, director J. P. Dutta, Madhuri Dixit and Raveena Tandon (replacing Manisha Koirala); it was revived in 1996 with Bobby Deol, Tabu and Mamta Kulkarni, then shelved again.
- #012
Sanjay Dutt was to star with Kabir Bedi, Raveena Tandon and Anupam Kher in the psycho thriller Alert 24x7, directed by Sojan Joseph and written by Dilip Shukla (Dabangg); shooting began in Goa in July 2011 but stopped when the producers ran into money trouble.
- #013
Sanjay Dutt was in the shelved Kalyug, produced by Mukesh Bhatt and directed by Mahesh Bhatt, with Pooja Bhatt, Ajay Devgan, Lisa Ray (replacing Manisha Koirala) and Mink Singh (replacing Raveena Tandon), later revived and made in 1994 as Naaraz.
- #014
Apoorva Lakhia planned "Mumbai Taxi Service," based on a true story he had read in a newspaper about a 1985 Mumbai incident involving policemen, starring Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar and Sunil Shetty, a realistic film in the vein of Shootout At Lokhandwala for producer Shree Ashtavinayak, and was also talking to Amitabh Bachchan; plans were well advanced when it was suddenly halted.
- #015
Sanjay Dutt starred with Vinod Khanna and Manisha Kohli in the shelved Tala Chabi (1988), produced by Romu Sippy and directed by Raj N Sippy, which had earlier been planned with Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborthy and Rati Agnihotri.
- #016
Sanjay Dutt was to be in Ranveer, an AB Corp. production by Rajkumar Santoshi; he told Filmfare (12/2003) he had agreed to a supporting role as a close friend of both Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan, but it was never made.
- #017
A remake of the 1968 comedy hit Padosan stalled for years over the rights, which Sanjay Dutt tried in vain to get. After Shemaroo bought them, Neeraj Vora was to direct, with Dutt, Paresh Rawal and Riteish Deshmukh in the roles of Kishore Kumar, Mehmood and Sunil Dutt (Govinda was first planned instead of Rawal) and Katrina Kaif in Saira Banu's part, but after its announcement in 8/2007 it was never made.
- #018
In 1992 Sanjay Dutt was set for an untitled Mukesh Duggal film with Pooja Bhatt and Atul Agnihotri, from a script he wrote himself, playing a man with the mind of a 12-year-old.
- #019
Sanjay Dutt starred in Ajanta Arts' shelved Jab Pyar Hua, with Mithun Chakraborthy and Padmini Kholapure, introducing Kamala Singh, whom Sunil Dutt had spotted working as a receptionist at Seth studio and planned to launch as an actress; R. D. Burman composed and Sunil Dutt produced and directed.
- #020
Sanjay Dutt starred with Pooja Bhatt and Aditya Pancholi in the shelved reincarnation drama "Chand Sitare Gawah Hain" (1992), with music by Nadeem Sharavan, produced by Mukesh Bhatt and directed by Mahesh Bhatt; when it was dropped, Nadeem Shravan gave the song "Chand Taare Gawah Hain" to the Morani Brothers for Damini.
- #021
Sanjay Dutt was cast with Raveena Tandon in Jhelum (1993/1998), produced by Sundar Lal Shokia and directed by J. P. Dutta. Dutta had first wanted to make it in 1979 with Vinod Khanna, until Khanna's joining Osho derailed it; after Border he tried with Sunny Deol, but they fell out over Deol's Border role; Jackie Shroff finally signed in 1998, but Dutta shelved it for Aakhri Mughal, and in 2000 tried again with Sunil Shetty.
- #022
"Love Story," written by the Mirza Brothers, was first to be made by Ramesh Behl's Rose Movies, directed by Sunil Dutt and starring Sanjay Dutt and Tina Munim, but the writers fell out with Behl and took the script to Rajendra Kumar, who used it to launch his son Kumar Gaurav.
- #023
In 1983 Sanjay Dutt signed for Yeh Kaisi Milan but dropped out because of his drug problem; Jackie Shroff took over, and the film was eventually shelved.
- #024
Sanjay Dutt starred in Shakeel Noorani's "Jaan Ki Baazi" (2002), with Priyanka Chopra (replacing Mahima), Danny Denzongpa and Ashish Vidyarthi, which was shelved 80% complete when Dutt fell out with Noorani and stopped giving dates; Noorani took him to court and won.
- #025
Sanjay Dutt starred with Reena Roy in Ajanta Arts' "Duniya" (1981), directed by Sunil Dutt, who shelved it to start Dard Ka Rishta.
- #026
Sanjay Dutt was in Vishesh Films' shelved "Chahat" (1992), with Ajay Devgan (replaced by Rahul Roy), Pooja Bhatt, Avtar Gill, Paresh Rawal and Anupam Kher, written by Robin Bhatt and Sujit Sen, with music by Nadeem Shravan, produced by Mukesh Bhatt and directed by Mahesh Bhatt; not to be confused with the 1996 film Chahat.
- #027
When "Yeh Hain Jalwa" was launched in 1999, it starred Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Raveena Tandon and Armaan Kohli, with Kareena Kapoor added in 2000, but producer Ketan Desai shelved it and started a new film under the same title with Amisha Patel.
- #028
Sidhu Moose Wala's Punjabi song "Sanju" is about Sanjay Dutt.
- #029
Sanjay Dutt was cast with Kareena Kapoor, Om Puri, Shivaji Satam, Sachin Khedekar, Anup Soni and Vrijesh Hirjee in the shelved 2001 film Ek Anokhi/Ajeeb Prem Kahani, produced and directed by Mahesh Manjrekar, an unusual love story about a blind girl, a disfigured man and the conflicts between them.
- #030
Through the 1980s Sanjay Dutt was madly in love with Tina Munim, but her recurring drug problems kept her away from him, and his family friend Rishi Kapoor was also pursuing her, which caused friction between the two men.
- #031
In the 1990s Sanjay Dutt was often compared to WWE legend Bret "The Hitman" Hart, whom he resembled.
Production Story (6)
- #032
Sanjay Dutt was to star in Pankaj Kharbanda and Boney Kapoor's "Dost - My Best Friend," with Aftab Shivdasani, Rimmi Sen and Ruchita Pandya, directed by Veena Bakshi, about a six-year-old girl separated from her family who meets Dutt, playing GOD, and is helped back to her parents. It was to be shot in Romania, but after a delay filming couldn't resume because Ruchita had grown taller, causing continuity problems, and Boney had no choice but to shelve it.
- #033
Producers Salim Akhtar and Shashi Ranjan signed Sanjay Dutt to star with Kumar Gaurav in Indradhanush, to be directed by Raj N Sippy, but in the early 1990s Dutt pulled out on bad terms, for disputed reasons, and the project was cancelled.
- #034
When Raj Kumar Santoshi's The Outsider with Amitabh Bachchan was put on hold, he turned to another crime thriller, Power, for the same producer, Firoz Nadiadwala, a police story with Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Ajay Devgn and Sohail Khan (replacing Harman Baweja; Emraan Hashmi had also been approached), Sanjay Dutt in a starring role, and Anuradha Patel, Lekha Washington and Ameesha Patel. The mahurat was on 22 September 2010 and shooting began on 4 October, planned for Mumbai, Bhopal, Muscat and Dubai, but after Ajay left (and reportedly rejoined), Santoshi couldn't get matching dates from all the busy stars again, and it was shelved.
- #035
Sanjay Dutt was set to star in the action thriller Bihaad, produced by Bunty Walia and Juspreet Walia and directed by Milan Luthria. Dutt brought the idea to Luthria and developed it with him as a true story, realistic and gritty but not dark, to be shot in rural Madhya Pradesh forests and the Chambal Valley. A first poster came out, but after years of delays Ajay Devgn left, and although it seemed to be revived later, nothing came of it and it was finally shelved.
- #036
Sanjay Dutt was to star in Zameen, launched in 1987 by Suresh Malhotra and directed by Ramesh Sippy, with Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit (replacing Amrita Singh), Vinod Khanna and Rajnikant. Date clashes soon held it up, and as Malhotra put more into his Time Machine project, Zameen stalled and was clearly abandoned after Dutt's re-arrest in 1994; Naseeruddin Shah had been in it but left, having lost interest.
- #037
Sanjay Dutt was cast in Talismaan, a VVC Films presentation shelved in 2009, with Amitabh Bachchan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan, Esha Deol and Dia Mirza, written and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and directed by Ram Madhavani, which was dropped for reasons such as financial problems or budget cuts.
Characters & Cast (9)
- #038
With Ajay Devgan, Sunil Shetty and Nitin Manmohan, Sanjay Dutt set up Foursome Production Entertainment, which planned a big-budget war film, "Vande Mataram," about the 1971 India/Bangladesh war, starring the three actors, but shelved it after JP Dutta's Line of Control flopped.
- #039
Sanjay Dutt was to star in Just Punjabi, a Hindi take on My Big Fat Greek Wedding. In 2003 producer Bunty Walia announced it with director Apurva Lakhia, Amitabh Bachchan, Dutt and Lara Dutta, but it wasn't made. Walia revived the half-forgotten project in 2007, again with Lakhia set to direct, but after the Ek Ajnabee fiasco Lakhia went back to Shootout in Lokhandwala and Jaspreet Walia was to make his directing debut instead. Dutt was reported signed for the lead, with Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai said to be in talks, but meanwhile the project seems to have been cancelled again.
- #040
Jungle was to be Sanjay Dutt's first film as producer, directed by Rahul Rawail, with Lisa Ray as the female lead (replaced by Tisca Chopra) and Raveena Tandon also offered a part. But it didn't look like meeting his expectations, and he cancelled it in 1991, partly because Lisa Ray couldn't learn Hindi. There were also reports that an unknown girl named "Avnee" had signed it; in 1992 she signed Sunil Shetty's shelved "Vikraal," and her sister Rachna signed Vansh, which was later cancelled.
- #041
Sanjay Dutt starred in Neha Arts' shelved "Dus" (1997), replacing Shah Rukh Khan, with Salman Khan, Vinod Khanna (replacing Nana Patekar), Raveena Tandon and Shilpa Shetty (in a role first meant for Prabhudevaa and turned into a female commando when he left), and introducing Rahul Dev; Shankar Ehsaan Loy composed, Nitin Manmohan, Mukul Anand and Rahul Anand produced and Mukul Anand directed.
- #042
Sanjay Dutt signed "Agnibandhan" (1994) with Jackie Shroff and Sri Devi, produced by Sudhakar Bokade and directed by Lawrence DSouza, but the leads were later replaced by Saif Ali Khan, Pooja Bhatt and Atul Agnihothri and the title changed to Sambandh; legal problems held it up for more than 13 years before it was finally released as "Sanam Tere Kasam."
- #043
Sanjay Dutt played the lead in Sharad Shah's shelved "Haramzaada" (1986), replacing Jackie Shroff, with Amrita Singh (replacing Ayesha Dutt Shroff), Vijayta Pandit (who quit after a quarrel with the director) and Sharmila Tagore, produced by Shabana Ahmed with Sharad Rajiv Rai assisting and Mounna Dhari directing; it was about a woman abducted by a masked man and repeatedly raped over six months.
- #044
Sanjay Dutt starred in Vishesh Films' shelved "Footpath" (1988), with Jackie Shroff (replacing Chunky Pandey), Neelam, Sangeeta Bijlani, Mahesh Anand and Avtar Gill, after Madhuri took a role and then pulled out; Salim Khan wrote it, Laxmikant Pyarelal composed, Nanabhai Bhatt produced and Mahesh Bhatt directed.
- #045
Sanjay Dutt was considered for wrestling coach Fateh Singh in Yash Raj Films' Sultan (2016), a role that went to Randeep Hooda.
- #046
Sanjay Dutt was considered for the villain, Kabir, in Yash Raj Films' Dhoom (2004), but director Sanjay Gadhvi wanted someone younger and cast John Abraham, giving him his first commercial hit; the next year Dutt and Abraham faced off again in Sanjay Gupta's Zinda (2005).
Career & Awards (1)
- #047
Sanjay Dutt was considered for Ajay Mehra in Rajkumar Santoshi's Ghayal (1990) but turned it down, expecting an art-house film since Santoshi, formerly Govind Nihalani's assistant, was a first-time director. His rival Sunny Deol got the part, and the film's blockbuster success and Deol's turn as a boxer turned avenging vigilante won him the Filmfare Best Actor Award and the National Film Award for Best Actor and made him an overnight superstar.
Life & Family (2)
- #048
Gangs Of London was part of a three-film deal between producer Bunty Walia and Sanjay Dutt, with Lamhaa and Just Punjabi, Dutt playing a gang leader. Walia said, "Bhupinder Singh has written the script about various Punjabi, Pakistani and Bangladeshi gangs operating in London. I liked the idea of Indian gangs operating in a foreign country with their own ideas and principles. Sanju's gang does not allow prostitution and drugs in its territory." Ad filmmaker Shamin Desai was first set to direct but was replaced by the producer's brother Juspreet Singh Walia, a New York-trained filmmaker. It was to be a huge production with six heroes, shot entirely in London over 75 days, with foreign technicians, Pakistani actors, two female leads, many London-based Indian actors and music by Vishal-Shekhar. Dutt said, "It's an emotional, interesting film with a high acting quotient, and it's set in London, one of my favourite cities… I won't wear a turban. The beard will be styled like those of the youngsters in London sport." The story followed two brothers and their friends, who clash with other gangs because they protect people from drugs and prostitution, with Bobby Deol as Dutt's brother and Sunil Shetty, Shaad Randhawa, Dino Morea and Tusshar Kapoor as the rest of the "Khalsa" gang, and Arjun Khanna had already designed an all-leather, chains-and-boots look for Dutt. It was shelved.
- #049
Sanjay Dutt was to be in Alibaug, Sanjay Gupta's film drawn from a chapter of his own life, about a dying young professor, once the life and soul of his university, who wants one last thing before he goes: to bring back together his favorite group of students, now drifted apart, and stop the rat race from swallowing their lives. Dutt was to make a special appearance, but in March 2008 Gupta asked him to take the main role instead. Dutt had shot for ten days in June 2007, but after his split from White Feather Films and Gupta, and with many other commitments, he clearly couldn't fit it in; the role went to Irrfan Khan, yet the film was never finished.
Related pages
- Mithun Chakraborty — Sanjay Dutt comes up in the facts on that page
- Irrfan Khan — Sanjay Dutt comes up in the facts on that page
- Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai — Sanjay Dutt comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
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