GET WELL SOON, SANJU BABA

Sanjay Dutt’s brief hospitalisation has left friends and fans worried

The year 2020 refuses to stop shocking us. And the latest shocker is the news that actor Sanjay Dutt has been diagnosed with stagefour lung cancer, and will fly to the United States for treatment. Sources in Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai, where Dutt was admitted for a check-up after complaining of breathlessness, confirmed to the Hindustan Times.

On August 11, the actor took to Twitter to announce he’s taking a break due to ‘some medical treatment’. “Hi friends, I am taking a short break from work for some medical treatment...With your love and good wishes, I will be back soon!”, it read. This was enough to send fans into a tizzy. Later in the day, social media was abuzz with reports of him suffering from cancer.

His wife, Maanayata Dutt, on Wednesday released a statement, which again, didn’t say anything about the actor’s ailment. “I thank everyone who has expressed their well wishes for Sanju’s speedy recovery... However, it is my heartfelt request to Sanju’s fans to not fall prey to speculations and unwarranted rumours...,” it said. Maanayata and the couple’s two kids, Shehraan and Iqra, were stuck in Dubai due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown. But a source close to Dutt said they reached Mumbai on Tuesday.

A host of celebs have come forward to wish a speedy recovery to ‘Baba’ (as Dutt is fondly called). Pooja Bhatt, his

Actor couple Kareena Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan are expecting their second child. A statement by Saif on Wednesday read, “We are very pleased to announce that we are expecting an addition to our family!! Thank you to all our well wishers for all their love and support.” The couple had their first child, Taimur, in 2016. co-star in his upcoming release Sadak 2, also shared the film’s trailer on Twitter, dedicating it to him, “Sanju.. This one’s for you!” Raveena Tandon, his KGF 2 co-star, put out a cryptic tweet: “Can this year just f-in stop!”. Urmila Matondkar, who worked with Dutt in films such as Daud and Khoobsurat (both 1997), shared a picture of them together, and tweeted: “Such an upsetting n horrible news...that @duttsanjay has been diagnosed of lung cancer.. #GetWellSoon”.

Dutt has many films in the pipeline. While Sadak 2’s trailer released on August 12, in the works before the lockdown were Torbaaz with Nargis Fakhri, Shamshera with Ranbir Kapoor, Bhuj: The Pride of India, and Prithviraj with Akshay Kumar. His first look from KGF 2, his Kannada debut, whose shoot is expected to resume, was launched on his birthday, July 29.

His last release before theatres shut was Panipat (2019), costarring Arjun Kapoor and Kriti Sanon.

When contacted,

Rahul Mittra, Dutt’s friend and producer of his film Torbaaz, says, “Sanju tweeted before he went to the hospital, and after he came out too. Did he say ‘I have lung cancer?’ No. Whether an ailment or not, we don’t know. I’ve been disturbed since Tuesday.” Then why would Maanyata issue a statement saying “..God has chosen to test us..”? Mittra says, “It could be an ailment... we are not certain what. It could be anything.”

PHOTO: SHIVAM SAXENA/HT