Sanjay Dutt

Through his father, he belongs to the Hussaini Brahmin community, which reveres Imam Hussain and claims to have participated in the battle of Karbala, the community's fluid identity as half-Hindu and half-Muslim having made it vulnerable during the 1947 Partition riots.

Sanjay has two sisters, Priya Dutt and Namrata Dutt.

Sanjay's name was chosen by crowdsourcing via the Urdu language film magazine Shama.

Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema in addition to a few Kannada, Tamil, Punjabi and Telugu films.

Dutt made his acting debut at an early age, playing a Qawali singer in his father's film Reshma Aur Shera (1971).

In a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 135 films, ranging from romance to comedy genres, though usually in action genres, thus proving himself one of the most popular Hindi film actors since the 1980s.

Part of the Dutt family, he is the son of actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis.

In the late 1980s, he was seen in a number of multi-starrers alongside leading actors like Govinda, Mithun, Dharmendra, Jackie Shroff and Sunny Deol.

Dutt made his acting debut with Rocky (1981).

His mother died in 1981, shortly before his debut film's premiere; her death is cited as the instigator of his drug abuse.

Dutt made his Bollywood film debut with the box-office super hit Rocky in 1981.

Dutt then went on to star in Vidhaata, the highest-grossing Hindi film of 1982, along with film veterans Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor and Sanjeev Kumar.

He also starred in movies like Main Awara Hoon (1983).

In 1985, he shot Jaan Ki Baazi, his first film in two years.

A career downturn followed, with the exception of the crime thriller Naam (1986), a milestone in his career.

The 1986 film Naam was a turning point in Dutt's career, it was a major critical and commercial success.

Dutt appeared in successful films throughout the '80s such as Imaandaar, Inaam Dus Hazaar, Jeete Hain Shaan Se (1988), Mardon Wali Baat (1988), Ilaaka (1989), Hum Bhi Insaan Hain (1989), Kanoon Apna Apna (1989) and Taaqatwar.

His performances in both Kabzaa (1988) and J. P. Dutta's Hathyar (1989) were both well received by critics, although both films only managed average collections at the box office.

He later established himself as a prolific star with films like Thanedaar (1990), Saajan (1991), Sadak (1991), Adharm (1992), Khalnayak (1993), Aatish (1994), Daag (1999), Haseena Maan Jaayegi (1999), Vaastav: The Reality (1999) and Mission Kashmir (2000).

His critically acclaimed performance in Vaastav won him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

His successes continued in the 1990s, with films that include Tejaa, Khatarnaak, Zahreelay, Thanedaar, Khoon Ka Karz, Yalgaar, Gumrah, Sahibaan and Aatish: Feel the Fire.

He went on to star in some of the most era-defining Indian films of the early 1990s such as Sadak, Saajan and Khalnayak, earning two nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for the latter two.

The Hindu wrote that "Dutt's earlier films (like Naam and Sadak) got him a lot of favourable attention", and "Saajan established Dutt as the conventional soft hero."

Saajan was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 1991, and Sadak was the fifth highest grosser of 1991.

Dutt was arrested under the TADA and the Arms Act in April 1993 and was convicted later for violation of Arms Act for possession of illegal weapons procured from other accused in the 1993 Bombay bombings.

He was sentenced to five years in prison.

He was granted bail in 1993, 1995, 2007, 2013, 2015, and 2016.

Khalnayak became a blockbuster and was the second-highest grosser of 1993.

This was followed by another box office success Gumrah, this was Dutt's second consecutive hit of the year.

Bombay (now Mumbai) suffered a series of serial bombings in 1993.

Dutt was among several people associated with Bollywood who were accused of involvement.

It was alleged that Dutt accepted delivery of weapons at his house from Abu Salem and co-accused Riyaz Siddiqui, who had also been implicated in relation to the Mumbai blasts.

It was claimed that the weapons formed a part of a large consignment of arms connected to the terrorists.

Since 2000, his other notable films include - Jodi No.1 (2001), Parineeta, Dus (both 2005), Shootout at Lokhandwala , Dhamaal (both 2007), All the Best (2009), Double Dhamaal (2011), Agneepath , Son of Sardaar (both 2012), and reunited with Hirani on PK (2014).

This was followed by another major career downturn with the exceptions of Kannada film K.G.F: Chapter 2 (2022) and the Tamil film Leo (2023), the former being the 4th highest-grossing Indian film and the latter being the 12th highest-grossing Indian film, both in which he played the main antagonist.

Dutt gained widespread acclaim for playing Munna Bhai in Rajkumar Hirani's Munna Bhai series (2003–2006), his most iconic role, and his biggest sole commercial success ever.

He was granted bail several times during his sentence which is why he only completed his five-year jail sentence in 2016.

Dutt's life receives considerable media coverage in India, and in 2018, Sanju, a biopic based on his life (which also saw a special appearance by him), starring Ranbir Kapoor as Dutt, was released to positive reviews and emerged as one of the highest-grossers of Indian cinema.

Dutt was born in Bombay City, Bombay State, Republic of India to parents who were noted Hindi cinema actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis Dutt.

Born to a Punjabi Hindu Mohyal Brahmin father and Muslim mother of Punjabi descent who converted to Hinduism upon marriage, Dutt's ancestry can be traced back to the Rawalpindi Division of West Punjab.