Recently, at an episode of Shekhar Suman’s talk show Shekhar Tonite, Sanjay Dutt had said that he is irked with the fact that the country is not peaceful anymore. Predictably, this led to a backlash on social media and Sanjay had to take to X to clarify his statement.
“I would like to clarify that it was never my intention to hurt, offend, or disrespect the sentiments of any individual, community, or institution. My remarks were made in the context of a scripted conversation intended to be light-hearted and humorous,” he wrote. “The spirit behind them was similar to the humour and satire seen in films like Munna Bhai, particularly the concept of 'Gandhigiri,' which was intended to convey a message of love, warmth, togetherness, and goodwill. Unfortunately, my words were interpreted outside of that intended context.”
During the Gandhi Jayanti episode of the talk show, Sanjay had spoken about the condition of the country. “The people of this country are so lovely. There should be peace here. I can’t feel that peace in our country anymore. We Indians are large-hearted people and we are hospitable. We have given so much, and we should always remain that way. I pray to Shivji that those days come back soon,” he had said.
He had also put up a satirical act on the show, where he played his iconic character Munna Bhai giving a speech as the PM of the country. He even joked about the prominent use of the PM Modi’s photos in public and government communication.
“Aur apun ko desh ke liye bahut kuch karne ka mauka mila hai PM banke, to apun ek aur kaam karega. Jahaan jahaan uska photo laga hai na, apun usko ekdum kam kar dega. Desh ko desh ka photo dikhna chahiye. (I have got the opportunity to do a lot for the country as a PM, so I will do one more thing. Wherever PM’s photograph has been put up, I will reduce it. The country should see a picture of the country.)” he said.
“Jahaan apna photo lagane ka mann karega na, wahaan Gandhi ji ka photo lagane ka. Bole to Gandhi ji ke vichar dekhna zyada zaroori hai. Apun ka photo dekh ke janta kya karega? (Wherever I feel like putting my own photograph, I will put Gandhi ji’s photograph there. Gandhi ji’s thoughts are more important. What will the people do by looking at my photograph?)” he added.
“Bole to apna photo to apun baad mein bhi khichwa sakta hai na, lekin desh ko pehle frame mein lagane ka. (I can get my photograph taken later as well, but the country should be put in the frame first.)” he further said.
Sanjay has been part of the Dhurandhar franchise which some critics termed as propaganda for the ruling party. He also led the RSS mouthpiece film Aakhri Sawal. His upcoming projects include Baap and Khalnayak Returns.
