Sanjay Dutt builds his Air Force One

Sanjay Dutt loves cars, bikes, gadgets and watches. Currently he is in the process of upgrading his vanity van and Dilip Chhabria is helping him make it into a sleek machine.

Says a source, "Dilip and Sanju are close friends and Dilip had designed the van Sanju's using now. The new van will be a Volvo 12 bus with 300-horse power. It will be bigger, better and will cost Rs 4 to 5 crore. The current van will now be used for his production work. Sanju has left the design to Dilip completely."

Wonder ride

Dilip says it's been very challenging for him to design Sanjay's new van. "Sanjay is a fantastic human who has always given me lots of creative freedom. He was amazed with the results of the first van." He adds, "We are going to build the most advanced vehicle in the world! Any guest who enters the vehicle will be dumbstruck.

Sanjay will be getting the van in April. We have taken a Volvo 12 bus and rebuilt the body. Sanjay's van will be modelled on Air Force 1, the US President's aircraft."

So what's so special about the van? "It will have an office lounge with full global connectivity, with phones, internet connections, and video on demand on every seat.

There are two compartments separated by a communication module and a bar. The module has four plasma screens and a 60-inch TV screen. The bar has stools and an espresso machine. Everything in the van is hydraulic hidden under the floor. So when Sanjay wants things out of view, the whole van will look like one big hall. His personal room has his chair and table, which are hydraulic too."

The colour scheme of the exterior is black. Says Dilip "The interiors will most probably be in red, black and silver. Sanjay's van's exterior will look menacing and aggressive."

It must be very expensive. "Yes, the cost will run into crores," says Dilip before signing off.