8 Famous Women With Whom Sanjay Dutt Was Romantically Linked

Ranbir Kapoor = Sanjay Dutt. Clearly, there has never been a resemblance so perfect in the history of Indian cinema than Ranbir Kapoor’s resemblance to Sanjay Dutt in ‘Sanju’. Ranbir Kapoor’s transformation and transition into a Sanjay Dutt from a younger age to a Sanjay Dutt in his 50s is simply mind-blowing. And if you have noted Ranbir Kapoor’s transformation then you must have taken note of the other real-life characters. (If not, here is a quick look.)

And if you have seen the trailer of the film ‘Sanju’, you must have noted that particular scene where Ranbir Kapoor’s Sanjay Dutt is asked by a biographer played by Anushka Sharma about the number of women who have been in his life. In fact, “girlfriends” is one of the themes of the trailer. The reason is that Sanjay Dutt, who was married to two women before Manyata, is rumoured to have had many affairs.

So who are they? And will the movie show all of them?

1. Sanjay Dutt and Tina Munim

Tina Munim (now Tina Ambani) was Sanjay Dutt’s first major love. The two were childhood friends, who realised that they loved each other as they grew up. Sanjay and Tina’s love story grew stronger when they starred opposite each other in Sanju’s debut movie ‘Rocky’ in 1981.

Everything would have probably gone smoothly but Sanjay took to drugs to cope with the grief following the death of his mother, Nargis. As he turned to addiction, Tina moved away from his life and their relationship ended forever.

2. Sanjay Dutt and Richa Sharma

Richa Sharma was Sanjay Dutt’s first wife and the mother to his firstborn, Trishala. Richa was an Indian who grew up in the US. She came to India to try her luck in Bollywood, and luck did give her a chance. Richa got a break with Dev Anand’s ‘Hum Naujawan’ in 1985. Though they never did a movie together, Sanjay and Richa met at the muhurat of a movie. Thereafter, Sanjay developed a crush on her and wooed Richa for a long time.

After a long courtship, Sanjay proposed to Richa when she was shooting ‘Aag Hi Aag’ (1987) in Ooty. The same year, the couple got married and Richa left the industry. The two soon became parents to Trishala. But two years after their marriage, Richa was diagnosed with brain tumour. She went back to her parent’s home in the US for treatment. Richa died in 1996 in New York. By that time, Sanjay had gone through an affair with Madhuri Dixit and had been named in the TADA case connected to 1993 Mumbai serial bombings.

 

3. Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit

Today, Madhuri Dixit is happily married with two sons. There was a time when the Bollywood superstar was believed to be in a relationship with Sanjay. It was the early days of the 1990s and the two actors were going strong professionally. Tabloid stories rotated around their so-called romance, which was strengthened during the shooting of 1991 blockbuster ‘Saajan’.

It is believed that the two were planning to get married but then the 1993 bomb blast happened. Sanjay was arrested under TADA and this affair ended. It should be noted that Sanjay has maintained that he was never in a relationship with Madhuri. Anyway, ‘Sanju’ has Karishma Tanna playing Madhuri so we will see what the biopic reveals.

4. Sanjay Dutt and Rhea Pillai

Rhea Pillai was an actress starring in TV and movies. Sanjay Dutt was believed to be in a relationship with Pillai after Madhuri left the actor’s life. Pillai became Dutt’s second wife when they married in 1998. There were troubles in the relationship which lasted till 2005.

They divorced in 2008. There was a massive controversy over the divorce itself, with at least one media house publishing details of the settlement which was vehemently objected to by Pillai. At the time of divorce, both Dutt and Pillai were in different relationships. What is noteworthy is that Pillai stood by Dutt at the time of the actor’s worst phase – his TADA trial and series of flop movies.

5. Sanjay Dutt and Nadia Durrani

No one can confirm whether the two were actually in a relationship but media reports and gossip columns claim that they were. Nadia Durrani was half-Afghan. Tabloids claim that Durrani came into Dutt’s life when the actor was married to Pillai.

It is believed that Durrani even visited Dutt on the sets of ‘Kaante’ in the US, which enraged Pillai who had earlier ignored the matter. It is unclear when the relationship ended but Durrani simply disappeared out of Dutt’s life.

6. Sanjay Dutt and Lisa Ray

Just like Dutt has always maintained that he was never in a relationship with Madhuri Dixit, Lisa Ray has stated that she was never in a relationship with Dutt. But what can stop the rumour mills or speculations from churning? It is rumoured that Dutt and Ray were romantically involved while the latter was charting her course in Bollywood in the early part of 2000s and the former was still going through a bad phase.

“The story of my so-called affair with Sanjay Dutt came as a shock to me. I couldn’t handle it, so I ran away to Canada,” Ray had told the TOI in 2001.

7. Sanjay Dutt and Rekha

It was rumoured that Sanjay Dutt and Rekha, who is much older to him, had got married secretly. They were believed to have grown close during the shooting of a movie in 1984. There was nothing to conclusively prove that the two had an affair. Yet gossip mills did not stop spreading the rumour. Dutt had to officially deny any such affair.

Later, Yasser Usman, the author of the Rekha’s biography ‘Rekha – The Untold Story’, once again refuted the rumours in his book: “Rekha and Sanjay Dutt were working in a film together, probably Zameen Aasmaan (1984). The rumours of their affair surfaced at that time. In fact, some went on to say that they got married. These rumours became so strong that Sanjay Dutt had to deny the allegations in a magazine. It was an official denial.”

8. Sanjay Dutt and Manyata Dutt

Again, it is speculated that Sanjay met Manyata – born Dilnashin Shaikh into a Muslim family – when he was linked with Nadia Durrani. After the latter’s exit, Dutt and Manyata grew close. Manyata, who had done only an item number in Prakash Jha’s ‘Gangajal’, married Dutt after two years of courtship in 2008.

During this period, Dutt was in and out of prison after the TADA court sentenced him in the Mumbai serial blasts case. Manyata stood by Dutt all through. On October 21, 2010, Manyata gave birth to the couple’s children, twins Shahraan and Iqra Dutt.

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