Why Bollywood 'bad boy' Sanjay Dutt's biography has hit controversy
The publisher responded on social media.
The fate of actor Sanjay Dutt’s biography is as tumultuous as that of the actor. Soon after journalist-writer Yaseer Usman's The Crazy Untold Story of Bollywood’s Bad Boy was released this month, the actor distanced himself from the book by saying that he never authorised either the publisher or the writer to pen down the stories of his life. If this was not enough to make people curious about the book, he sent a legal notice as many excerpts from the book were already appearing on media.
The actor, whose authorised biography and biopic (his character essayed by Ranbir Kapoor) are underway, has managed to keep his life a mystery. And there is no authentic source of information about his life apart from a few chapters in Mr and Mrs Dutt: Memories of Our Parents written by his sisters Namrata and Priya.
I hope better sense will prevail and there will be no further excerpts that will hurt me or my family. My official autobiography will be out soon which will be authentic and based on facts. pic.twitter.com/iOiazTRc6n
— Sanjay Dutt (@duttsanjay) March 20, 2018
The publisher, too, responded on social media.
Here’s all about the controversy:
Bollywood’s Bad Boy
The writer describes the actor as “the man-child who never grew up”. He traces Dutt's troubled journey as a child, struggling to adjust in a boarding school, to an adolescent who becomes an easy prey for drug abuse, and was in a drug-induced haze during his mother Nargis's funeral.
Along with his Bollywood debut comes his association with the crime world, which finally led to his conviction in 1993 serial blasts.
According to reviews, the book deals with many such known incidents of his life, apart from some lesser-known things like long before his underworld association, he was once arrested for involving in a shooting spree in posh Pali Hill. He was also accused of smuggling heroin into the US.
According to an IANS review, the book deals on the “bad boy” aspects more as there is little on the actor’s present life.
Sanjay Dutt and his many relationships
As Firstpost reviews, “The events that stand out here include his stints in rehab in the US; mostly rocky relationships (alleged or otherwise) with Tina Munim, first wife Richa Sharma (their whirlwind courtship and marriage, followed by her return to the US and cancer diagnosis, the many bitter years locked in divorce litigation and custody battle over their daughter Trishala are all detailed here), Madhuri Dixit, second wife Rhea Pillai; a career that saw Dutt being written off several times, only to script a comeback that made critics believe that there was more to the actor than they'd previously believed. If there are any constants, it is the presence of his father Sunil Dutt, sisters Priya and Namrata, and friend/brother-in-law Kumar Gaurav."
The book reveals that Sanjay also once apparently stripped and tied up a man for flashing his then girlfriend Tina Munim.
And a director of one of his and Madhuri Dixit's films said, "He was always following Madhuri around and whispering 'I love you'."
‘Had I got an opportunity to interview him’
Sanjay Dutt’s biopic is the writer’s third unauthorised biopic; the first two being on Rajesh Khanna and Rekha respectively. The author relied mostly on newspaper articles, old interviews and talked to people who knew the actor and wanted to talk about him.
He went through a number of interviews, journals and therefore vouches for whatever he has written. “I agree, it would have been so much better had I got an opportunity to interview him at length apart from the ones I have done with him around his films. But then, how do you research and write about history? In the absence of the primary source, you look for the secondary sources for piecing the narrative together. Can you imagine the incredible media coverage that a controversial star of his stature would have commanded?” the writer said.
First offender who made offence look cool
According to Yaseer, despite having a four-decade–long career, Sanjay Dutt has only a few noteworthy films. Still, he is one of the A-listers. “Sanjay Dutt was perhaps the first offender who made the offence seem cool, legitimised through the lens of Bollywood’s familial loyalties and stardom. And he let this get to his head,” the writer said in an interview.
The industry too has fostered a sympathetic feeling towards Sanjay. Shatrughan Sinha was asked about his opinion on whether it was possible for Sanjay to know in advance about the planned attack on the Bombay Stock Exchange in 1993. His response summarises why Sanjay is the “man child”. “Don’t be ridiculous; Sanjay doesn’t even know what a stock exchange is,” said Shatrughan Sinha.
Can there be any objection?
Neither the writer nor the publisher requires an approval to write a book on a person, as long as it is not untrue, or defamatory. The actor has not challenged any particular incident as untrue. He just made it clear that he was never interviewed for the biography, and hence many episodes are based on gossips.