Sunil Dutt passes away ,May 25th 2005-1250 hrs IST
Veteran actor and Union Minister for Sports and Youth
Affairs, Sunil Dutt passed away today morning in Mumbai due to a heart
attack. He was 74 and would have completed his platinum jubliee
celebrations on June 6. He is survived by his son, Bollywood star, Sanjay
Dutt, two daughters, Namrata and Priya and family members.
Sunil Dutt started his film career in 1955 with the film Railway Platform and
has many hits from the 60's and 70's to his credits. Some of his most
prominent films include Sadhana, Sujata, Main Chup Rahoongi, Gumrah, Waqt,
Mera Saaya, Humraaz, Padosan, 36 Ghante, Zakhmee, Nagin, Jaani Dushman,
Shaan and Munnabhai MBBS. He also starred in the first Indian Oscar
nominated film Mother India.
Presently he was also a part of the
sequel to Munnabhai MBBS, Munnabhai Meets Mahatma Gandhi.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 (Mumbai):
His actress-wife Nargis Dutt died of cancer in 1981, the year their son Sanjay made
his debut in the Bollywood with ''Rocky'.
In his career spanning about four and a half decades, he had carved
a niche for himself as a versatile actor and acted in about 80 films.
Dutt, alongwith his late wife Nargis, also contributed
to the social and cultural circles by contributing their mite for many causes like cancer treatment.
Political career
Sunil Dutt came to prominence in politics due to his honesty and integrity
as well as for his social work.
He joined politics in 1984 and won his first election from the South
Mumbai Lok Sabha constituency.
His opponent was the heavyweight lawyer Ram Jethmalani.
He was once again elected in 1989 and 1991 but the Congress
parliamentarian did not contest the 1996 and 1998 elections.
In the general elections held last year,
Dutt defeated Sanjay Nirupam of the Shiv Sena.
Bollywood icon
Before his foray into politics, Sunil Dutt was a major
Bollywood star in the 50s and 60s.
His well-known films include Padosan, Waqt,
Reshma Aur Shera and Geeta Mera Naam.
During an acting career spread over four decades,
Dutt worked with major filmmakers such as BR Chopra,
Yash Chopra, Mehboob Khan and Guru Dutt.
Born on June 6, 1929, at Khurd village in Pakistan's Jhelum district,
Dutt's life was disrupted when he was still a teenager.
Like millions of Punjabis, his family was caught on the wrong
side during the Partition of the subcontinent in August 1947.
Leaving their home and hearth, the Dutts began life from scratch.
Later, Dutt's family was allotted some land in Ambala district through
the government's scheme to rehabilitate the Partition refugees.
Hard times
But Dutt soon moved to Mumbai to study at the Jai Hind College.
In Mumbai, he did a clerical job with the Bombay Bus Service and
shared a room with six others.
He turned to anchoring cultural shows to boost his income and interviewed
film stars over Radio Ceylon.
His good looks and deep voice prompted producer Ramesh Saigal to offer
him the hero's role in Railway Platform.
Success came his way with B R Chopra's Ek hi Raasta, which was an instant hit in 1956.
But it was the role of Nargis' son Birju in Mother India, which catapulted him to stardom.
Dutt risked his life to save actress Nargis during a fire on the sets of the film.
They were later married in what turned out to be one of the great romances in the Indian film industry.
Nargis succumbed to cancer in 1981, leaving Dutt to deal with a terrible loss.
Social causes
After her death, the legendary actor turned away from films and sought refuge in social work.
He set up the Nargis Dutt Foundation
for the cure of cancer patients.
He helped raise one lakh pounds for former Pakistan cricketer Imran Khan's cancer charity
fund and three million shillings for
a cancer hospital in Kenya.
Dutt was the original volunteer who wanted to boost the morale of soldiers defending the country's border.
From the 1962 war with
China to the 1999 Kargil conflict, Dutt was always there to lend cheer to Indian troops.
During the height of terrorism in Punjab, Dutt ventured to bridge the gulf between the Hindus and the Sikhs.
He walked from Bombay
to Amritsar to pray for peace at the Golden Temple.
He also drove through Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal in the Hands Across the Borders
expedition for peace in South Asia.
Valiant struggle
On the domestic side, a life without Nargis was filled with difficult times for Dutt.
His son, actor Sanjay, was first caught in drug abuse in the 1980s and was then alleged to have links with the
underworld in the 90s.
On both occasions, Dutt acted with dignity to free his son of his indiscretions.
Two years ago, he obliged his long-time friend Vidhu Vinod Chopra and acted along with his son Sanjay in Munnabhai MBBS.
He did not contest the 1996 and 1998 elections due to his preoccupation with the TADA
cases against his son Sanjay in the serial bomb blasts in Bombay in 1992.
Dutt won the 1999 and 2004 elections from the constituency with a thumping margin.
Among his well-known films, Mother India propelled him to stardom.
His other popular films include Gumraah, Waqt, Humraaz, Khandaan,
Milan, Padosan, Mujhe Jeene Do, Sujata and Reshma Aur Shera.
Following the death of Nargis Dutt due to cancer, Sunil Dutt engrossed himself in cancer treatment
activities for the poor and needy and continued his association with the Spastics Society of India.