Behind bars, there are no stars

Team DT / TNN / Aug 3, 2007, 00:00 IST

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

When he went to jail in 1993, Sanjay had Hanuman Chalisa, Waiting for Godot and body building to keep him company. What does life hold for him there this time?

doweshowbellyad=0;

JAIL MAKES ONE A STRONGER PERSON: Sanjay Dutt (TOI)
When he went to jail in 1993, Sanjay had the Hanuman Chalisa, Waiting for Godot and body building to keep him company. What does life hold for him there this time?
What he took to jail
10 packs of cigarettes, soap, hair wash, towels, comb, toothbrush, toiletries, a pair of kurta and jeans, slippers and mineral water bottles.But Sanjay will have to share his toilet and bathroom with eight other prisoners.

Clothing
Although Sanjay Dutt took clothes alongwith him, he will have have to wear jail clothes – a shirt and a pyjama. This is the regulation uniform.
Food
As Sanjay has not asked for home food, he is living on the food provided by the jail.
After being woken up in the morning for counting of prisoners, Sanjay’s breakfast at 7 am comprises porridge, bread slices and tea. Lunch means sabzi, roti and dal, which is served at 12 noon.

Dinner, comprising the same, is served at 5.
What he does in jail
Recreation is severely limited as Dutt is only allowed to roam inside his barracks from noon to 3 pm.
Otherwise, he has to pass his time reading newspapers. As of now, he is not allowed to attend morning prayers nor has he taken up any jail work like weaving or carpentry.
“As far as we are concerned, Sanjay Dutt is an accused, and is just like the rest of the 2500 prisoners lodged here. For us he is not a celebrity, so there is no question of giving him any special treatment. He did not ask for anything special and even if he asks, he will only be provided things that are mentioned in the jail manual,” Swati Sathi, superintendent of Arthur Road Jail.
‘Jail is the place that teaches you how to deal with any situation’
It feels sad to see someone so close going to jail. We were in the same barrack for eight months. Because of my age, he used to call me taau. I still remember the first day he came to jail. He came in the evening and he hadn’t had dinner.
At first he kept to himself but we (Singh and other inmates in the barrack) approached him and befriended him. We asked him if he had eaten and he said, ‘no’.
We told him not to worry as we always kept extra food for two or three people. He was a very well behaved and nice boy. And then he was also a star.
He used to get letters everyday from fans. Sometimes 40-50 letters a day. Reading them used to be a good time pass for us. People would write so many things, some girls even professing their love.
It is sad that he has to go to jail again. But I am sure he will cope. Jail is a place that teaches you how to deal with any situation – Pyare Singh, who shared Sanjay’s barrack for eight months in 1993
‘Not without Sanju’
Filmmakers say they will wait for six years rather than drop Sanjay Dutt from their films
With four of Sanjay Dutt’s movies in various stages of completion and six that he has just signed, about Rs 100 crore are riding on him. While most filmmakers are still waiting to see how the situation develops, others are sure that they will wait for Sanjay – even if it takes six years.
Says Soham, “The story of my film is still being written. The cast except for Sanjay Dutt has not been finalised. I started work on the film about two months back and it was completely Sanjay’s idea. I hope the time span of the sentence reduces. However, six years or one, I will wait for Sanjay. I am sure that everyone from the industry feels the same way”
Filmmaker Bunty Walia also concurs, “We still have not decided what to do next. It is a very crucial stage. I have announced two movies with Sanju – Lamha and Just Punjabi – and I am going to wait for him to come out. My films will not be without Sanju.”
Adds Rahul Dholakia, who will direct Lamha, “The script of the film is still being written and the change in the cast completely depends on the producer. In this case, the producer is Bunty Walia. If he wants he can replace me as well but I am sure Bunty would want to wait for Sanju and so would I. We have written the script keeping him in mind and have also discussed the story with Sanju. I can’t think of anyone else doing the role.”

End of Article