Now, Sanjay Dutt in SRK's hotseat!

By: Upala KBR, Mid-Day
Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Sanjay Dutt is an avid watcher of Shah Rukh Khan's Kaun Banega Crorepati 3.

Dutt has been very generous with his compliments to the new quizmaster, and the two actors have forged a new friendship because of it.

No wonder then that when SRK asked Dutt to appear on a special episode of KBC3, he agreed without a moment's hesitation.

Yesterday afternoon, Dutt and Boman Irani shot for the special episode in Film City.

Breaking the ice: Sanjay Dutt on KBC in 2001
Mutual admiration

A close friend of Dutt reveals that recently Sanju got so carried away by SRK's amusing antics on the show that he messaged him about it.

"Sanju messaged SRK to say that he loved watching him in KBC 3, and how much he enjoyed watching it because of him."

What's more, the source says that SRK immediately replied back thanking him.

The SMS broke the ice between the actors. They have been chatting regularly since.

Meanwhile, Sanju confirms that he shot for KBC 3 yesterday. He says, "It was great fun.

Initially, I was very apprehensive but Shah Rukh made me feel very comfortable," adding, "I watch KBC 3 every day.

I like Shah Rukh's warmth on the show. He is really good, comes across as a warm and caring personality, and the show is so much fun because of him."

Cause for concern

In 2001, Dutt appeared on KBC with Amitabh Bachchan on the occasion of World Cancer Day, and spoke at length about the setbacks in his life because of the disease (his mother Nargis suffered from it).

Bachchan even asked Dutt about his drug-induced youth and Dutt said that he took drugs because of peer pressure, where you was considered hip if you were into drugs.

"I wanted to belong to that hip crowd, and unfortunately, I got drawn into it and continued with it for nine years. Today, I am completely out of it, and I am ready to counsel anybody about its ill-effects if they require it."

Dutt had won Rs 25 lakh on the show, which he donated to charity houses named after his mother.