Sanjay Dutt reveals he started doing drugs to ‘look cool amongst ladies’

Actor opens up on emotional journey of overcoming cancer and his ‘charsi’ image

Sanjay Dutt has recalled the time he first found out about his cancer diagnosis during the Covid-19 lockdown. His sister Priya Dutt had to break the news to him, following which, he spent hours crying, thinking about his family and life. He also recalled how his doctor warned him of the several side effects of chemotherapy, despite which, he took the plunge, fought the disease and emerged victoriously.

In conversation with YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, the actor also recounted the time he became hooked on drugs because they made him more confident around ladies and naturally, more appealing to them.

Sanjay began narrating, “It was a normal day in lockdown. After walking up a few steps, I became breathless. After a bath I couldn’t breathe, I didn’t know what was happening. I called up my doctor. In the X-ray, my lungs were more than half covered in water. They had to tap the water out. They all were hoping it was TB (tuberculosis) but it turned out to be cancer."

Sanjay recalled how breaking the news to him was a big issue for his loved ones. “I could have broken somebody’s face. So, my sister came and told me. I said, ‘Okay, I got cancer, now what?’ Then you start planning things, will do this and that… But I did cry for over two-three hours because I was thinking about my kids and my life and my wife and everything. These flashes came and I said, 'I am going to stop getting weak'."

Sanjay said that at first, he didn’t get a visa and was asked for the treatment to be done in India. Later, actor Hrithik Roshan's father, producer Rakesh Roshan recommended a doctor to him. Sanjay revealed that when that doctor warned him that among the consequences of chemo was hair loss and vomiting, he told him “Mereko kuch nahi hoga (Nothing will happen to me).” He also shared that after his chemotherapy sessions, he would cycle for an hour every day. The actor also revealed going for chemotherapy in Dubai and then playing badminton for two-three hours.

The Munna Bhai MBBS actor, who was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in August 2020 and is cancer-free now, shared the following note months after his diagnosis: “The last few weeks were very difficult time for my family and me. But like they say, God gives the hardest battles to his strongest soldiers. And today, on the occasion of my kids’ birthday, I am happy to come out victorious from this battle and be able to give them the best gift I can--the health and well-being of our family."

Sanjay, who is currently basking in the success of his film KGF Chapter 2, also shared how he thought doing drugs made him look ‘cool’. He said, “I was very shy, especially with women, so I started doing drugs to look cool. You do it and you become a cooler guy with the ladies, you talk to them."

He added, "Ten years of my life I was in my room or in the bathroom, uninterested in shoots. But this is what life is, and that’s how everything changed. When I came back [from rehab], people called me charsi. And I thought, ghalat hai yeh (this is wrong). People on the road are saying this. Kuch karna padega (I have to do something about it). So, I started working out. I wanted to break through that. And then from charsi, they started saying I have ‘swag’ and stuff like, ‘kya body hai’.”

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