It’s June 6, 2023, the 94th birth anniversary of Sunil Dutt, who left the audience hooked to the screens with his performances in films Mother India, Sadhna, etc. He essayed every role with perfection in a career spanning over five decades. But, his childhood and initial days as a breadwinner were filled with a lot of difficulties. Sunil Dutt (real name Balraj Dutt) was born on June 6, 1929, in the village of Khurd in the Jhelum District of Punjab to Diwan Raghunath Dutt and Kulwantidevi Dutt.
Tragedy struck Sunil Dutt when he lost his father at the age of 5 and his mother when he was 23 years old. Dutt first completed his education and had to work as a bus conductor to pay the fee of Jai Hind College. The late actor completed his graduation from this college. While completing his education, the Mother India actor wished to pursue something creative as a side job and worked as a Radio Jockey in the Hindi service of Radio Ceylon. He became extremely popular as a jockey in the oldest radio station in South Asia but was more inclined towards acting. Finally, he made his debut in acting with the 1955 film Railway Platform alongside Johnny Walker and Nalini Jaywant as co-stars. Ramesh Saigal directed this movie.
Railway Platform was not successful at the box office but Sunil Dutt later performed in many hit films like Gumraah, Waqt, Humraaz, Khandaan, Milan, etc. However, it was Mehboob Khan’s epic Mother India in 1956 which propelled him to stardom. This movie also helped him to tie the nuptial knot with Nargis.
Besides films, the late actor also made a stint in politics. Writer and journalist Rasheed Kidwai mentioned that it was after a request from former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. According to Kidwai Congress veteran Murli Deora had also asked Dutt to join politics. The journalist has mentioned this in his book Neta—Abhineta: Bollywood Star Power in Indian Politics. Kidwai further described that Dutt was made the president of the Sadbhavna Ke Sipahi movement by Sonia Gandhi in 2002.
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