Amitabh Bachchan to play Sunil Dutt?

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According to a report in Deccan Chronicle, Amitabh Bachchan is being considered to play the role of Sunil Dutt in Sanjay Dutt's biopic that is being helmed by Rajkumar Hirani. After reports of Ranbir Kapoor playing Sanjay Dutt on-screen went viral, the rumour mill has been abuzz with speculations regarding the rest of the cast. A source close to the Dutts was quoted in the report as saying that Sanjay has always considered Abhishek to be his younger brother and Amitabh as a father figure and hence while casting for the film, Big B's selection was an unanimous decision. If this is indeed true, it will be the first time that Amitabh will work under the direction of Raju Hirani.

Let's take a look at why Rajkumar Hirani decided to make a biopic on Sanjay Dutt.

Sanjay Dutt: Lesser known facts

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Sanjay Dutt has been a part of three out of the four films that Rajkumar Hirani has directed and hence when the filmmaker insists that the actor's story needs to be told, it rings true. According to a report in DNA, the filmmaker who is all set to make a biopic on the actor was quoted as saying that he has known Sanjay for the longest time and seen how multi-faceted he is. But the director rues the fact that Sanjay has suffered as much as he has in one lifetime and hence asserts that people needed to know his story. He further stated that even after doing three films with the actor, he knew only 1 per cent of him and hence they chalked out a script after 7-8 hour sessions everyday for 25 days. However, it has also been reported that there's a lot of research still left that Raju Hirani plans on completing post the release of PK.

While the film will shed light on many unknown facets of Sanjay Dutt, we list down some lesser known facts about the actor...

Sanjay Dutt: Lesser known facts

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Sanjay Dutt was born on July 29, 1959 to Indian cinema's two legends - Sunil Dutt and Nargis and was educated at The Lawrence School, Sanawar near Kasauli. He made his acting debut in Bollywood film Rocky (1981) opposite Tina Munim. However, three days prior to his debut film's release, Nargis passed away.

Sanjay Dutt: Lesser known facts

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After acting in Rocky, Sanjay acted in films like Vidhata, Jeeva, Naam and Taaqatwar. These films gave him a good foothold in the industry and were also critically acclaimed. However, his drug addiction played a spoilsport in his career and became a major concern for his father, Sunil Dutt who came to his rescue. He was sent to rehab in the United States as his drug addiction became quite critical and had to be treated immediately.

Sanjay Dutt: Lesser known facts

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Sanjay Dutt was the original choice for Hero: Before Sanjay Dutt was sent to a rehab centre, enough damage was already done to his career. Sanjay's drug addiction was becoming so severe that he had started losing out on movie projects. Apparently, the actor was the first choice to play the lead in Subhash Ghai's Hero, but after working with Sanjay Dutt in Vidhata, the filmmaker picked Jackie Shroff instead. The actor was also the original choice for Anil Kapoor's role in Lamhe.

Sanjay Dutt: Lesser known facts

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He was arrested three weeks before the release of Khalnayak: Despite the many ups and downs of his life, the actor has performed brilliantly in many films. His hit films in 1990s such as Sadak, Saajan (for which he was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award) and Khalnayak, for which he earned his second Filmfare Best Actor Award nomination were considered to be the path-breaking films of his career. But it seems Sanjay Dutt's struggles never really ended. Three weeks before the release of Khalnayak in April 1993, he was arrested and charged with involvement in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts.

Sanjay Dutt: Lesser known facts

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Sanjay Dutt has some hidden talents: Recently, in an interview, Salman Khan not only praised Sanju's singing talent but also revealed that he can play musical instruments like the tabla really well. In fact, it was also reported in the media that the actor participated in a concert in USA and won a gold medal for being the best air guitarist. In this contest, contestants have to mimic the action of playing the guitar.

Sanjay Dutt: Lesser known facts

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He won National Award for Munnabhai MBBS: The actor has proved his mettle is every genre. But it was his performance as Raghu in Vaastav that brought his fading career in Bollywood back on track. After this the actor gave many superhit performances. However, it was his performance in critically acclaimed film, Munnabhai MBBS, that earned him a National Award. The actor also received an Award from the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his work in Munnabhai series.

Sanjay Dutt: Lesser known facts

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He has a fetish for tattoos: Sanjay Dutt, who is fondly called as a rockstar by many of his close pals, lives the life of a rockstar in his real-life too. The actor has a fetish for tattoos and has many tattoos. Sanjay has tattooed his mother, Nargis' name in Urdu and his father Sunil Dutt's name in Devnagari script on his chest. Apart from those two tattoos, Sanju also has the word 'honour' tattooed in Japanese on his arm besides a coloured tattoo of a big lion on his chest. The actor has also got the imprints of a Tibetan Om, his birthsign Leo as well as a red-inked tattoo of the numerical one, done on his neck.