What next

Even as reports that Sanjay Dutt would walk out of Yerwada Jail on February 27 emerged on Wednesday, speculation in the film industry was already rife over what would be Sanju’s next move. While spending time with his family is obviously the actor’s priority, during his imprisonment, Sanjay had been in touch with leading filmmakers like Raju Hirani, Rohit Shetty and Vidhu Vinod Chopra (who are also his close friends). So B-town is perhaps justified in wondering whether or not a film project or two will emerge out of those associations.

Manyata in charge Sanjay had made it a point to keep abreast of new regarding the latest films in his letters to his filmmaker friends, while in Yerwada. During his absence, Sanjay’s wife Manyata had ensured that she networked with directors and held script narrations. A friend of the family reveals, “Any filmmaker wanting to sign Sanjay (after his release), had to meet Manyata. In Sanjay’s absence she would rarely socialize, but made time to go through scripts sent by the directors.” For those not in the know, Manyata has been the CEO of Sanjay Dutt Produ-ctions since 2012. She also hired an agency’s services to keep an eye on endorsement deals and movie projects that would suit Sanjay, on his release. Several scripts have been short listed for the actor. The brief given to the agency was also very clear: “No negative roles for Sanjay”.

What are Sanjay’s choices Many subjects have been given the go-ahead, although Sanjay needs to take a final call on these. Among these, is a script called Marco Bhau by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. There are also talks about Sanjay stepping into Munna Bhai’s shoes again, for Raju Hirani. However, Raju will start work on his Sanjay Dutt biopic, which stars Ranbir Kapoor. Hirani has said of this project, “It is being made only because Sanju has shared his story and wants it to be made and we want to keep it as honest as possible. It’s not a brief on his entire life for two-and-a-half hours. We have taken aspects of his life. We have worked on the script with Sanjay and I narrated the script to him and he was happy with it.”

Umesh Shukla has also met Manyata regarding a short-listed script, for which a signing amount has already been paid to the actor. “The script suits Sanjay and is ideal for a comeback,” a source close to Dutt’s production house reports.

Incidentally, Sanjay Gupta had also announced that after Dutt walks out of jail, he would be the first to direct the actor in a movie. However, after the failure of Gupta’s last film (Jazbaa), it is unlikely that Dutt will chart his comeback in one of his films.

“Once Sanjay is out, he wants to catch up on lost time with his family,” our source added. “But film projects have been lined up for Sanjay, and it will mostly be either Vidhu’s film or Umesh’s.”

Meanwhile: After news of Sanjay’s impending release, Manyata Dutt’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing with congratulatory calls and messages. Manyata has confirmed that Sanjay will return home immediately after his release, and preparations are on in the Dutt family to extend the warmest possible welcome to the actor.