Why would there be such media frenzy over a 55-plus filmstar whose last outing as solo hero was a humongous flop and who spent the last 42 months behind bars making paper bags? Because the actor is Sanjay Dutt.
He walked out a free man to the kind of adulation many younger actors would kill for from Pune's Yerwada Central prison on Wednesday into the loving arms of wife Maanyata and one of the most successful directors of our times- Rajkumar Hirani.
For those who argue meaty roles dry up for ageing actors in Bollywood unless their surname is Khan, Dutt had Hirani escorting him back to tinsel town as Bollywood furiously tweeted its approval for the Baba of all seasons.
Hirani, who is working on a yet-untitled biopic on Dutt with Ranbir Kapoor in the lead, said: "We are happy Sanju is back. He has served his term and he is going to come back and play his second innings. Indians are famous for scoring well in the second innings. I'm sure he will rock it. I look forward to his biopic and also to starting Munna Bhai 3 with him very soon."
Brand-ed
Dutt went to jail on 16 May, 2013 after the Supreme Court rejected his review petition for reconsideration of his conviction. And his last film as solo hero was Policegiri, released on July 5, 2013, which the actor had hoped would gross `100 crore.
The film tanked and all that was heard about Dutt was news of his frequent furloughs and how the system bends to favour the rich and powerful.
But if the adulation he walked out to on Thursday is any indication, Dutt is starting life with a clean slate and as a rust-proof restarter -Baba 2.0, if you please. "Brands are evaluated on many parameters.
Sanju's not a bad guy. He did something wrong and he has done time for that. He's clean now. He's a popular actor and has attracted a lot of sympathy. Brands will need to make their own assessments, but if they want to be bold he's the man," says ad guru Piyush Pandey.
Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha agrees. "He's very strong. And he always manages to bounce back. He's great at comebacks, he has always done it and he will do it again. He'll be back up in 10 days."
Role play
Which may be an exaggeration, but the image makeover has already started for the troubled actor who first got into drugs and then got mixed up with the underworld and was subsequently booked for illegal possession of arms in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case.
After walking out of jail, Dutt bent down in front of the flashbulbs and frenzied reporters, touched the soil outside prison, turned and saluted the national flag flying at the prison gate. Minutes after, he said: "There is no easy walk to freedom, my friends. I am here because of the support of my family and friends."
This could not have been scripted better. Before he went to jail, Dutt had successfully transformed his onscreen image of the misguided young man with a history of drugs and violence in Yodha and then the menacing gangster of Khalnayak, and later Vaastav, to the more acceptable Munna Bhai MBBS. From the macho anti-hero to the dreaded villain, from the bhai with a golden heart to a goofball, Dutt has done it all.
The question is- will the big roles still come his way? "He was a very nervous person in the last 8-10 years. It was showing in his work. Not anymore.
He will be relaxed, ready to give his best to the industry," says director Sajid Khan. Would he cast Dutt in his movies? "Of course I would. Who wouldn't!"
"He will definitely get the kind of roles that an Anil Kapoor or a Rishi Kapoor is doing now. Also, his name still carries some weight, and will enhance the star value of a film, so producers will be keen to sign him on," trade analyst Amod Mehra told Reuters.
The third part of the hit Munnabhai franchise apart, there is buzz that Subhash Ghai might cast Dutt in the remake of the 90s hit Khalnayak. Wife Maanyata has reportedly signed Prabhu Deva as director for a home production with Dutt in the lead. And there is Siddharth Anand's tentatively-titled Bang Bang 2 for which he is expected to start shooting in summer.
The future indeed looks bright for Bollywood's favourite Baba who's had more than his share of downs. As producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra says: "It's very rare not to lose hope in a dark cell. I am certain nothing can stop him now."
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