Sunil Dutt- Bollywoods Stalwart

By: Sunil Noronha

Born as Balraj Dutt in Pakistan on the 6th of June 1929, Sunil Dutts father passed away when he was nine. Having been born in Pakistan before the partition he and his family was displaced during the Partition and had to live on the streets before getting a piece of land in Haryana in compensation for the move to India after the partition. He went to finish his studies from Jai Hind College in Bombay working his way through it. He was a radio jockey and celebrity interviewer before he began his career as an actor in 1955 with Railway Platform. As a matter of fact, it was during his career as a radio jockey and celebrity that had his first look in to the celebrity world. His career obligations gave him the opportunity to act in Railway Platform, the same obligations by which he met his wife Nargis. His debut along side Nalini Jaywant was not a stamp enough to get people to recognize him. His first taste of success was in the form of a hit in 1956, which was the first of the seven films that he did with B R Chopra. He reached his peak only his second year in the industry with Mother India. His portrayal of Birju, a rebellious young man ending up becoming a dacoit, is still fresh in the memory of the audiences. Another landmark that took place during Mother India was him meeting his wife Nargis. She played the role of his mother in the film. His marrige to Nargis followed the film.

At the time he was entering a industry full of stars, all of them well deserving their star status. To break through that was not going to be easy and would happen overnight. He still continued making a mark however. If the role he overshadowed the role it only worked to his benefit. His next few films like Sujata, Usne Kaha Tha, Chhaya, Sadhna...all saw him get into roles that were not the "Birju" kind. They were more of the intimate, sensitive Sunil Dutt-not the Sunil Dutt that shot him up to fame in Mother India. This change of topics he handled in movies to the more emotional and sentimental saw him undertake issues that society looked down upon. He has a prostitute as a wife in Sadhna and he played a man who refused to adhere to the caste barrier when agreeing to marry in Sujata. He also took on comedy in Padosan(1968), which was a shift far from the grim seriousness of the roles he fitted into.

He got into producing the films he acted in the 60's with Yeh Raaste Hain Pyar Ke and Mujhe Jeene Do. He even went into film making with Yaadein in 1964. A trademark of his in-the-becoming career then was collaborations wit B R Chopra and hits. He had three of them in one year-1967- Milan, Meherban and Humraaz. After Padosan, the years saw his career drop as did his finances. The draught lasted until '73-'74. This period saw his home production Reshma Aur Shera which only added to his troubles.

In his forthcoming films, he made desperate attempts to put his career back on track he resorted to not-so-artistis roles which nevertheless were hits. His career came back on track with another trio of hits in the films Heera, Geeta Mera Naam and Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaaye. Movies which followed after that saw him through his career. The resurrection of his career kept busy filming one flick after another. This run came to an end in'81 when his wife succumbed to cancer. It was the same year in which his son Sanjay Dutt debuted in Bollywood. He them went towards societys calling and became the Sheriff of Mumbai. Three years later in '84, he contested elections to the Lok Sabha and had remained a politician until his death on the 25th of May, 2005. He did make a few appearances in , some of which are Kshatriya and Parampara. His last appearance onscreen was alongside his son Sanjay Dutt in Munnabhai MBBS. .

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