‘I’m a misfit in politics’

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Unlike his illustrious father Sunil Dutt, who juggled the big bad world of Bollywood and politics with equal élan, his son Sanjay rues being a failure in politics. While his sister is still continuing the legacy of their father, Sanjay says, “I think I was a misfit in the political arena; it’s just not my cup of tea. I am a straightforward person who is happy in Bollywood. Acting is my passion — getting into the skin of characters comes very naturally to me. But in politics, I have been a miserable failure.”
The actor, who had withdrawn his candidature in the Lok Sabha elections in 2009, reminisces about his first political speech that he had delivered in Lucknow. “I had told Amar Singh, who is like my elder brother, that I cannot prepare a speech. So he said that he will have a perfect speech prepared for me which I only needed to learn by heart, just like actor do with their dialogues,” he says.
On the D-Day, the Munna Bhai, who is famous for his Gandhigiri, started to read out his speech, which was based on similar lines, only to be interrupted by Amar every once in a while. “He even came onto the dais and took away my punchline. That got him so excited that he continued doing the same for a while, until I was left with nothing more to say,” says Sanjay. Munna Bhai is not one to let go so easily. “I bowed before them and told them: ‘I cannot solve their problems completely, but I will surely convey them to the government. Yours, Munna Bhai.’ I was completely shocked with the applause I received,” he adds.
His popularity in politics, however, turned out to be short-lived but the actor doesn’t seem to regret that. “I don’t even understand the term ‘politics’ and moreover, going around and delivering speeches doesn’t come naturally to me either. I am back in films now which I feel is my appropriate space,” says Sanjay.