Sunil Dutt was one of the greatest people in Indian Cinema. The man was class apart, and whoever knows him in person vouched for the fact. It was in 2005 that the superstar passed away due to a heart attack at the age of 75. Years later, Paresh Rawal was immediately chosen to play the actor in Sanjay Dutt’s biopic, Sanju, helmed by Rajkumar Hirani!
Dutt senior, shared screen with his son Sanjay Dutt in Rajkumar Hirani’s Munna Bhai MBBS in 2003. It was a surreal experience for the father and son and their only film together. Two years, later Sanjay Dutt lost his father, but Paresh Rawal somehow made him alive through his stellar performance in Sanju. But what if we tell you that the Hera Pheri star playing Sanjay Dutt’s father in his biopic had a divine connection with Dutt senior?
Sunil Dutt’s Last Letter Before Death
The story goes back straight to 2005. Before his death, Sunil Dutt’s last letter was addressed to Paresh Rawal and it was birthday wish. What was even stranger was that Sunil Dutt passed away on May 25, 2005 and Paresh Rawal celebrates his birthday on May 30. But Dutt Sahab, sent the birthday wish 5 days prior! Paresh Rawal was told about the birthday letter on the day the Mother India actor passed away. But their soul connection gets deeper from this point!
12 Years Later – A Lost Letter & Universe Aligns!
The letter, like any birthday wish, was forgotten! However, it was years later that Paresh Rawal’s wife, Swaroop Sampat, found the letter with some important documents! In an interview with the Indian Express in 2018, Paresh Rawal recalled discovering the letter in 2017. He said, “On January 3, 2017, I asked my wife to take out a couple of my documents as I was going to meet Rajkumar Hirani. I told her I would pick up those documents when I came back. When I was sitting with Rajkumar Hirani, my wife called me and said that along with the documents, a letter from Sunil Dutt Sahab was also there. She asked me what I wanted to do about it. And I was stunned as I was narrated the part of Sunil Dutt for the movie (Sanju).”
A Surreal Casting!
Paresh Rawal was overwhelmed and stunned with the co-incidence and even showd the letter to Rajkumar Hirani. He was stunned since no one keeps a birthday card for 12 years and no one discovers a birthday card 12 years later, right at the time when you are offered to play the same person!
Well, surely Dutt Sahab had his plans and probably he took great care of Sanjay Dutt‘s biopic giving signs through the Universe. Rest as we all know is history! Paresh Rawal played Sunil Dutt in Sanju and you could not segregate the reel from the real, it was such a powerful portrayal!
For more such throwbacks, stay tuned to Koimoi.
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