'Sanjay Dutt to be released today, but he 'won't be partying immediately'

Mumbai: Actor Sanjay Dutt will walk free from the Yerawada Central Jail in Pune on Thursday. He will reportedly have a relaxed day and spend time with his family rather than partying hard with fraternity members. [caption id=“attachment_2642072” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sanjay Dutt. Firstpost/ Sachin Gokhale[/caption] The 56-year-old will be released after serving the remainder of his five-year sentence for possessing illegal arms in the March 12, 1993, Mumbai serial bomb blasts case. “He will take a charter from Yerawada Central Jail to Mumbai. He won’t be partying immediately after his release. He will offer prayers at Siddhivinayak temple and then go to his mother’s (Nargis) grave in Marine Lines,” a source told IANS. “There is a portrait of his father (Sunil Dutt) in his building in Pali Hill. There will be a small puja there. It will be basically a relaxed day with his family,” the source added. Of the five-year sentence, Sanjay has served more than 50 months in two installments, excluding the parole and furlough he was granted at various times on different grounds. He spent 18 months in jail as an undertrial before he was granted bail and later, following a Supreme Court order in May 2013, he was sent to the Yerawada Jail to serve the remaining 42 months of his five-year sentence. To celebrate Sanjay’s release from prison, a Mumbai restaurateur will offer a special culinary delight – named ‘Chicken Sanju Baba’ – free of charge to all patrons and fans. Mughlai eatery Noor Mohammadi Hotel here will offer the signature recipe, created by Sanjay himself and gifted to restaurant owner Khalid Hakim. On the film front, his projects are yet to be revealed, but some filmmakers have shown interest in working with the Khalnayak star. National Award-winning director Umesh Shukla said he has a film for Sanjay. “Sanjay liked my subject. We will get to know the status of the film once he returns home. First of all, he needs to be with his family. That’s his priority. As far as the film is concerned, he certainly liked my script, which I narrated to him last year,” Shukla had earlier told IANS. “The script suits him the best. It’s content-oriented subject,” he added. Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who shares a close bond with Sanjay and also cast him in the highly successful Munnabhai franchise, said the actor “committed a mistake and paid for that. Now it’s his new birth and we are with him”. “We have been writing scripts for him for the last few years and right now we have many scripts for him,” he added. He also shared that the pre-production of the third part of Munnabhai franchise is in full swing. Aligarh actors Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao are “delighted” that actor Sanjay will return from his incarceration. Filmmaker Subhash Ghai has a special message for him. “If I know Sanjay like he was during Vidhaata and Khalnayak, he will come out this time with much more maturity and a greater sense of responsibility as a human, a family man and also a star. He just wants to focus on his career as an actor and nothing else. That’s what he told me two months back,” Ghai said in a statement. IANS