Happy Birthday Sanjay Dutt!

It has been a tumultuous 50 years for actor Sanjay Dutt, who was born on July 29, 1959. His life has been one which has seen more downs than ups, until it finally seems to have settled down into some sort of routine currently. In fact, his life would make into a wonderful film itself, with all its twists and turns. Born literally with a silver spoon, Sanju's parents Nargis and Sunil Dutt doted on their son. Life could not have been better, that is, till fate decided to play a hand. As time emerged for Sanju to follow in his parents' footsteps and act in his first film, 'Rocky', his mom was diagnosed with cancer.

Nargis Dutt's death dealt a blow to the young Sanju, who was unable to handle the pain. He took the inevitable route of drugs. His father Sunil Dutt stood by him like a rock and saw him through rehabilitation and gave a fresh leash to his career. He proved his mettle with films like Mahesh Bhatt's 'Naam' and Subhash Ghai's 'Khalnayak'. Things could not have been going better for him, when the 1993 Mumbai blasts took place and the actor was arrested for possessing AK-47 gun purchased from the underworld. He was arrested under TADA and the entire industry was shell shocked. He was in jail for 16 months before being granted bail in 1995. He went to jail again when the hearing of the Mumbai blasts' case came up. In July 2007, he was sentenced to six months of rigorous punishment. He was released on bail and arrested again twice before he was finally granted bail by the Supreme Court on 27th Novembver, 2007. His love life has been equally turbulent. His first wife Richa Sharma died of brain tumor. His second wife Rhea Pillai is now married to Leander Paes. Currently, the actor has married the third time to Maanyata. Professionally, the actor has proved his mettle as an actor with the 'Munnabhai' series of films directed by Rajkumar Hirani. Both 'Munnbhai MBBS' and 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' were Box Office hits and did much for his popularity. Sanju's charismatic persona has endeared him to millions of cinema fans for his action films as well as his light hearted roles. In the second phase of his career, he did some wonderful films like 'Vaastav', 'Kaante', 'Mission Kashmir', 'Parineeta', 'Shaadi No 1', 'Eklavya', 'Dhamaal', 'EMI' and 'Luck'. On the anvil are big budget films like 'Blue', 'Lamha' and 'Aladin'. The greatest thing about Sanju has been his ability to bounce back from every possible adversity. He has faced everything that life has thrown at him, paid dearly for his many foolish mistakes and has continued to move on. He may have turned 50 today, but for most of his fans and dear ones, he still remains Sanju Baba. Happy Birthday Sanju Baba from MovieTalkies.com!

Sanjay Dutt turns a year older today. But he continues to remain Sanju baba for many in the industry. His personal life has been very eventful, with him having to pay quite heavily for all his mistakes committed during his youth. But, now after the bomb blast case behind him, it seems that a new phase has started in Sanju's life. Heralding this change has been Maanyata, Sanju's wife.

Saying true to form, it has been learnt that the actor cancelled his plans of celebrating his birthday in style after he received news about the bomb blasts in Ahmedabad and Bangalore. The actor, who is currently in South Africa with his wife, shooting for the film Chatur Singh. Incidentally, there are three films being shot in Cape Town at the moment. One of them is Chatur Singh, and the other two are Kal Kisne Dekha and Luck. The cast and crew of all three films were on Sanju and Maanyata's guest list. But once the news of the blasts poured in, Sanju was in no mood to celebrate his birthday. He cancelled the big party that he had planned for his bash, his first after he and Maanyata got married. By doing this, he has proved again, that he is worthy son of a worthy father. We salute you Sanjay Dutt and wish you a very happy birthday.

He will have a quiet "working" birthday but a small get-together on the sets will take place.

The actor's wife Manyata and close friends from the film industry and outside are already in Cape Town to be with him on his special day.

Incidently, younger sisters Priya Dutt and Namrata Kumar have chosen not to be with their brother.

Sources close to Priya said she was busy with the Parliament Session in Delhi.

Life has come a full circle for the actor, who is the first child of legendary Nargis and Sunil Dutt.

Born with a silver spoon, Sanjay has faced trials and tribulations in his personal life including drug addiction and conviction in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts besides his controversial marriage with Manyata recently, with grit and determination.

He made an unsuccessful debut in politics joining the Samajwadi party on the eve of Lok Sabha elections. The party chose him as candidate for the Lucknow parliamentary seat but the Supreme Court refused to stay his six year conviction.

He was subsequently made the general secretary of Samajwadi party.

After the elections, the actor was back to the studios and went to Goa to complete the shooting of All the Best produced by Ajay Devgan and directed by Rohit Shetty.

During the election campaign, he openly criticised the Congress party accusing it of being responsible for his father's death.

Sanjay also ridiculed sister Priya Dutt, Congress MP for continuing to use her maiden surname after marriage.

Meanwhile, filmmaker Mahesh Bhat, who directed him in films like Naam and Sadak, said that Sanjay was a "survivor".

"In this unforgiving business, it is difficult to survive for even five years. But, Sanjay's career has lasted for nearly three decades. This speaks volumes of the kind of metal he is made up of," Bhat said.

He said Sanjay has seen too many lows in his life and has fought back to stay afloat.

"You can't count him out even at the age of 50 because he will get back in fighting form," he said.

The filmmaker said Sanjay has had a great life with tragic twists...Sanjay's first wife Richa died of cancer when daughter Trishala was still a toddler in the United States. The daughter, now a young woman, continues to stay with her maternal relatives in the US."

"The actor possesses the genetic assets of Nargis and Sunil Dutt. He is obbsessive to his commitments. He gives his heart out completely to whatever he does," he said.

The actor's recent film Luck got him appreciation for his style and stunts. He has played the leading man since the time he made his debut in Rocky in 1981. Only in Mission Kashmir and Kidnap, he has played father to Hrithik Roshan and Minnisha Lamba respectively.

Even though Sanjay has played different kinds of roles in his eight-year-old career including underworld gangster, his most famous recent portrayals has been of Munnabhai MBBS and Lage Raho Munnabhai.

Sanjay was arrested under TADA after his name cropped up during investigations of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts for links with the under world. He remained in jail twice. He was absolved of TADA charges and was booked under Arms Act for possession of illegal weapons.

Baba, as he's fondly called, will usher in his 50th birthday along with wife Manyata who flew-off to South Africa to give him company. The superstar is all excited to have a working birthday this year.

Speaking to Glamsham.Com from South Africa, Manyata Dutt confirmed the news. She said, ''It was Sanju's wish to keep his B'day a low key affair. Since, he will be shooting on that day; he's all excited to have a working birthday this time around.''

Sanjay Dutt is currently shooting in South Africa for Anil Kapoor's upcoming film NO PROBLEM. The superstar is on a 45 day long shooting schedule in the country.

Well, let's hope Sanjay Dutt's plan to have a working birthday this time is a great experience for the superstar.