Born as Balraj Dutt on 6th June 1929, Sunil Dutt was an Indian movie actor, director, producer and politician. He also served as the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports from the year 2004 to 2005. He was honored with the 4th highest civilian award - Padma Shri in 1968 by the Government of India. Sunil Dutt joined the Indian National Congress party as an MP in 1984 and was elected for a term of five years from the constituency of Mumbai North West.
Sunil Dutt completed his graduation from Jai Hind College in Bombay and started to work in BEST transport division of Bombay. He was married to actress Nargis Dutt and the couple had three children including actor Sanjay Dutt, Namrata Dutt and Priya Dutt. He got introduced to the film industry with the movie Railway Platform in 1955. Sunil shot to stardom for his role in the movie Mother India in 1957 opposite Nargis. Sunil Dutt had acted in several films during his life time. He breathed his last on 25 May 2005.
Personal Life:
Sunil Dutt was born on 6th June 1929 in Khurd Village in the district of Jhelum, Punjab Province, British India. Sunil Dutt’s father passed away when he was five years old. The Partition of India began when he was 18. As a result of the partition, Hindu-Muslim violence started across the country. He and his family were saved by his father’s friend Yakub and the family resettled in a small village named Mandauli in the district of Yamuna Nagar of Haryana. He shifted to Aminabad Galli and later moved to Bombay and completed his graduation from Jai Hind College in Bombay. He started to work in the BEST Transport division in Bombay, before joining the film industry.
He got married to yesteryear actress Nargis in 1958 and the couple was blessed with three children Sanjay Dutt, Priya Dutt and Namrata Dutt. In memory of his wife who succumbed to cancer in 1981, Dutt founded the Nargis Dutt Cancer Foundation. Sunil Dutt also led a 1,250-mile peace march in 1987 from Mumbai to the Golden Temple in Amritsar, during the Sikh militancy period in Punjab. He also visited Japan in 1988 and walked from Nagasaki to Hiroshima, to appeal for global disarmament.
Professional Career:
Sunil Dutt took up a job in Radio Ceylon (oldest radio station in South Asia) and soon became very popular on the Hindi Service of Radio Ceylon. He got introduced to the film industry with the film Railway Platform in the year 1955. He shot to stardom for his performance in the movie Mother India in 1957 in which he was cast opposite to Nargis. During the shooting of the film both Sunil and Nargis fell in love and got married in 1958.
Sunil Dutt was one of the successful stars of Hindi cinema during the late 1950s and 1960s and acted in several superhit movies like Sadhna in 1958, Sujata in 1959, Mujhe Jeene Do in 1963, Khandan in 1965 and Padosan in 1967. He also acted in several B.R. Chopra movies including Gumraah in 1963, Waqt in 1965 and Hamraaz in 1967. In the year 1968 he produced the film Man Ka Meet and launched his brother Som Dutt and also produced the big-budget movie Reshma Aur Shera in 1971 which flopped at the box office. Some of his other hit films includes Heera in 1973, Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye in 1974, Nagin in 1976) and Jaani Dushman in 1979. Some of his Punjabi religious movies are Man Jeete Jag Jeet in 1973, Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam in 1974 and Sat Sri Akal in 1977.
Sunil Dutt produced the movie Rocky in 1981 in which he launched his son Sanjay Dutt. The movie was a huge success at the box office. Before the release of the movie, his wife expired suffering from pancreatic cancer and he founded the Nargis Dutt Cancer Foundation in her memory in the same year. He also sponsored the India Project, an organization which supports treatment of Indian children with facial deformities.
The Maharashtra government honored him with the position of Sheriff of Mumbai in 1982, for a period of one year. In the early 1990s he retired from the film industry after the releases of his film Parampara in 1992 and Kshatriya in 1993. He was actively involved in politics after his retirement from his film industry. However, he returned to movies in 2003 in the film Munna Bhai M.B.B.S shortly before his death.
Ill Health and Death:
Sunil Dutt breathed his last on 25 May 2005 suffering from a heart attack at his residence in Bandra, Mumbai.
Words and Wishes:
Lata Mangeshkar
“He was a rare human being. People like him are difficult to find”.
Shabana Azmi
“I can’t believe that Dutt Sahib is no longer with us. It comes as such a deep shock not just to those who work in the film industry but also to the people of the country”.
Javed Akhtar
“The news of Dutt’s death has come as thunderbolt to me. How could a person, who was so full of life, die all of a sudden? This is so unbelievable”.
Pranab Mukherjee
“Snatched away a great son of India who has made distinctive and signal contributions in enriching national life in several sectors”.
Arun Jaitley
“Sunil Dutt was not only a great actor but had also made a place for himself in public life. He was respected by all parties”.
Awards and Recognition:
Sunil Dutt was awarded the Filmfare Best Actor Award for Mujhe Jeene Do in the year 1963. He was received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi for Yaadein in the year 1964. Sunil Dutt also won the Filmfare Best Actor Award for Khandan in the year 1965.He was awarded with the BFJA Awards for Best Actor in Hindi for Milan in 1967. The Government of India also honored him with the Padma Shri award in 1968. In the year 1982 he was awarded the Sheriff of Mumbai. He received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995 and also the Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Sunil Dutt in the year 2000 received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Anandalok Awards. Again in 2001 he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement in Zee Cine Award. The Dadasaheb Phalke Academy honored him with the Phalke Ratna Award in 2005. Sunil Dutt was also honored by the Glory of India Award by IIFS, London.
Son: Sanjay Dutt
Daughter: Priya Dutt and Namrata Dutt
Daughter-in-law: Manyata Dutt
Son-in-law: Kumar Gaurav and Owen Roncon
Grandchildren: Trishala Dutt, Shahraan Dutt, Iqra Dutt, Saachi, Siya
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Sugan Chand (Fan)
We miss you, sir.