Sunil Dutt birth anniversary: DYK late actor wrote to Paresh Rawal hours before his death?
It marks Sanjay Dutt's father and veteran actor Sunil Dutt's 92nd birth anniversary on June 6. Sunil Dutt died of a heart attack at his Mumbai home on May 25, 2005, days before his 76th birthday. A few hours before Dutt’s demise he wrote a letter to Paresh Rawal, the actor who later on played Sunil’s role in ‘Sanju’ which released in 2018.
Paresh said that five days ahead of his birthday Sunil Dutt penned a letter before his breather his last. In conversation with Indian Express Paresh revealed, on May 25 when he got the news of Sunil Dutt’s tragic death, he called his wife (Swaroop Sampat) to inform her that he will be late."She then told me that there is a letter for you from him (Sunil Dutt). I asked her what the letter was and she said it is for wishing you a happy birthday. I told her that my birthday is on May 30, which is five days away but she said the letter is for you and she even read it to me. I was so surprised. Why would Dutt Sahab send me a birthday letter five days before my birthday? And we have never exchanged any holiday greetings in the past – be it Diwali or Christmas – so why would he write to me?", he said.
The letter read, “Dear Paresh Ji! As your birthday falls on 30th May, let me wish you all the happiness, prosperity and good luck in life. May God shower his choicest blessings on you and your family.”
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For the unversed, in the film Paresh played the onscreen father Sunil Dutt to Ranbir Kapoor who was seen in the titular role of Sanju. Sunil Dutt, who began his Bollywood career in the 50s, is remembered for his performances in films like 'Mother India', 'Sujata', 'Waqt' and 'Padosan.' He got married to Nargis during the time their film 'Mother India' was about to be released. In the 1990s, Sunil turned to politics and became the Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports in the Union government at the time of his death.
