Sanjay Dutt: One Man, Many Lives by Ram Kamal Mukherjee (Book Review: 3.75*/5) !!!

There are few personalities who are so shady in their character that people don’t know if they should talk good about them or bad but one thing is sure they are always a topic whenever their industry is discussed. One such personality is Sanjay Dutt from Bollywood industry who has been in so many controversies all through these years but yet gets sympathy of his fans and people knowing him. Whenever Sanjay Dutt’s life is discussed, it has so many dimensions to it that the topic just doesn’t end in few minutes. Still, Mr. Ram Kamal Mukherjee showed guts in summing up Sanjay Dutt’s life in less than 200 pages in his new book “Sanjay Dutt: One Man, Many Lives”. The movie on Sanjay Dutt that all of us witnessed last year also had the same tag line but this book is little more transparent than the movie.

Mukherjee has not treated this book as a biopic but talks like an editor which makes it interesting as author hasn’t got into useless detailing of his childhood etc. which has nothing to do with a normal reader though it could haven an interest point for a die-hard fan. Author has written the book being very neutral where he talks about both- the good part that Sanjay Dutt brought into the country through his profession and also the bad part he did being an actor and Indian citizen. Just as we saw in the movie, Sanju, here too, author focuses on Sanju Baba’s relationship with his father, Sunil Dutt, majorly. Author talks about Mr. Sunil Dutt as much as he talks about Sanjay Dutt in the book. The love that he had for his son but still he didn’t act as a good father throughout his childhood in order to be strict with him is discussed. Also, how he tried saving Sanjay Dutt from any severe punishment is also described in the book which tells about what a good father he was even without displaying his emotions.

Sanjay Dutt’s personal and professional life is given a glance in this book where almost everything from his drugs to court case to prison days to multiple marriages to his relationship with his sisters- before and after to his concern for his children to his relationships with his colleagues- ups and downs are discussed briefly. You will get many answers about Dutt’s life which certainly media never tells you without keeping bias. Sanjay Dutt’s professional life is also discussed where his trend setting styles, his gangster movies, his flops and hits, his relationship with his co-stars are given some light.

Sanjay Dutt’s relationship with Manyata is one of the USPs of the book as there are many insights about Manyata which shall definitely make you think twice about her commitment towards Dutt as not much is discussed about her in the media. Also, why Sanjay Dutt’s relationship gets on and off with his sisters, Salman Khan, Sanjay Gupta and other people associated with him is nicely narrated in the book. The way author has written or you can say, the way Sanjay Dutt’s life is, everything seems to be a fiction and therefore reading this book never becomes boring.

Author has tried to be as little biased as possible and it shows in the book where he talks everything as it is without trying to give his perspective to the story unlike what Indian media did because of which Sanjay Dutt suffered more than he deserved. Author’s language is very crisp and easy for anyone to go through this book without any concern. I managed to read the book in a single sitting and I was very satisfied with the way book has been handled. Talking about the drawbacks, I still felt that author knew much more but didn’t mention about Dutt. Also, most of the parts in the book are already out in the world through media and magazines and even through the movie- Sanju hence you actually don’t get to know much in 500 bucks that you expected. The images attached of Sanjay Dutt’s life in the book are not much relevant with the chapters.

Overall, this book is a great stuff to read if you have no information about Sanjay Dutt and are keen to know otherwise it can be ignored if you are already updated about his life through media and newspapers. I give this book 3.75* out of 5.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA