Bollywood superstar Sanjay Dutt turns fifty

Mumbai: Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, whose real life could resemble a movie potboiler drama, turned 50 today.‘Sanju baba’, as the macho man of Hindi movies is fondly called, is in Cape Town, South Africa, shooting for Anil Kapoor`s home production `No Problem` directed by Anees Bazmee.

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. Incidentally, 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 told reporters. 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. Bureau Report