Deconstructing rebel sans pause
Sanjay Dutt's 6-year term behind bars will in no way dampen his brand image, say experts.
By Moinak Mitra & Samidha Sharma, TNN |
NEW DELHI: Not long ago, TV anchor Simi Garewal asked the slammer-bound Sanjay Dutt whether it was “strange fate that makes you go through one ordeal after the other”. Pat came the reply: “Maybe, I am the chosen one”. Jesus is not alone.
Adversity bolsters the persona, with frenzied fan following rallying around their rebel, oftentimes, without a cause. That’s what Brand Sanjay Dutt delivered, and will continue to, going by wide-ranging comments from marketers and brand pundits. Putting up a united front, they claim that Dutt’s six-year-term behind bars for illegal possession of arms will in no way dampen his brand image. Here’s why.
Reality: The 48-year-old actor has been convicted of possessing arms and ammunition in his plush Mumbai residence, that were allegedly part of the main consignment used in the 1993 Mumbai blasts.
Perception: So what?
In more ways than one, Dutt’s been there, done that. His drug abuse, his actress wife late Richa Sharma’s tumor ailment, his divorce with second wife Rhea Pillay, his involvement with the underworld, his love for riding around the bye-lanes of Mumbai on his Harley, are urban legends in their own right.
Now, that’s the bad boy bit. Many a column-centimeters have already gone into inking his ‘bad boy’ image. But for the last few years, the actor is on redemption row with a series of comedies and the iconic Munnabhai series. In a lot many ways, he’s regained the terms of endearment with the audience, who now consider him larger-than-life. It is the schizophrenic life people want. “He’s an amalgam of the rugged with the smooth,” says Sanjay Bhutiani of BR Films.
People gain mythical proportions when they pass away. “But Dutt faced extreme ordeal in his lifetime, which gives him a Phoenix-like image,” observes Mr Desai. In many ways, this is akin to Amitabh Bachchan’s near-death experience – the Puneet Issar punch on the sets of Coolie in 1982 – which sealed his iconic status, he adds.
As the cathartic story of Dutt on celluloid unfolds with his debut in 1981 as a gangly 22-year-old in Rocky, it goes through a series of brawny points (dons and dungeons), culminating in Khalnayak, which ironically coincided with his 18-month arrest in the Mumbai blast case. He bounced back with sheer mellow drama. With Munnabhai MBBS, Dutt became the undisputed king of comedy, punctuated by an unmistakable altruism, which he liberally doled out in real life.
And now after the success of Lage Raho Munnabhai, Sanjay Dutt could have gone on a rampage as far as signing movies was concerned. However, both the producer fraternity and he himself deployed the wait-and-watch policy, say industry insiders in Bollywood. “Lage Raho did business of around Rs 70-80 crore and emerged as a brand – both the movie and Sanjay himself. It’s possible to make sequels of the movie for the next 10 years and it would work considering the success of the movie,” says an industry source.
But the big one is by and large the third part of the Vidhu Vinod Chopra-produced and Raj Kumar Hirani directed Munna Bhai Chale Amerika. “There is a sense of shock and sympathy, which is all pervasive in the film industry after the six-year sentence announced by the court,” says Mr Bhutiani. The production house has gone ahead and canceled its scheduled premier of Naya Daur, which would have taken place on Wednesday.
Adversity bolsters the persona, with frenzied fan following rallying around their rebel, oftentimes, without a cause. That’s what Brand Sanjay Dutt delivered, and will continue to, going by wide-ranging comments from marketers and brand pundits. Putting up a united front, they claim that Dutt’s six-year-term behind bars for illegal possession of arms will in no way dampen his brand image. Here’s why.
Reality: The 48-year-old actor has been convicted of possessing arms and ammunition in his plush Mumbai residence, that were allegedly part of the main consignment used in the 1993 Mumbai blasts.
Perception: So what?
In more ways than one, Dutt’s been there, done that. His drug abuse, his actress wife late Richa Sharma’s tumor ailment, his divorce with second wife Rhea Pillay, his involvement with the underworld, his love for riding around the bye-lanes of Mumbai on his Harley, are urban legends in their own right.
Now, that’s the bad boy bit. Many a column-centimeters have already gone into inking his ‘bad boy’ image. But for the last few years, the actor is on redemption row with a series of comedies and the iconic Munnabhai series. In a lot many ways, he’s regained the terms of endearment with the audience, who now consider him larger-than-life. It is the schizophrenic life people want. “He’s an amalgam of the rugged with the smooth,” says Sanjay Bhutiani of BR Films.
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In scrutinising such positive vibes around Brand Dutt, ET caught up with a cross-section of experts. “Today, Dutt is seen as somebody who has paid his due and his life has almost become a fable, a mythical brand who has scored against the odds,” says Santosh Desai, MD and CEO of the Kishore Biyani-promoted Future Brands. People gain mythical proportions when they pass away. “But Dutt faced extreme ordeal in his lifetime, which gives him a Phoenix-like image,” observes Mr Desai. In many ways, this is akin to Amitabh Bachchan’s near-death experience – the Puneet Issar punch on the sets of Coolie in 1982 – which sealed his iconic status, he adds.
As the cathartic story of Dutt on celluloid unfolds with his debut in 1981 as a gangly 22-year-old in Rocky, it goes through a series of brawny points (dons and dungeons), culminating in Khalnayak, which ironically coincided with his 18-month arrest in the Mumbai blast case. He bounced back with sheer mellow drama. With Munnabhai MBBS, Dutt became the undisputed king of comedy, punctuated by an unmistakable altruism, which he liberally doled out in real life.
And now after the success of Lage Raho Munnabhai, Sanjay Dutt could have gone on a rampage as far as signing movies was concerned. However, both the producer fraternity and he himself deployed the wait-and-watch policy, say industry insiders in Bollywood. “Lage Raho did business of around Rs 70-80 crore and emerged as a brand – both the movie and Sanjay himself. It’s possible to make sequels of the movie for the next 10 years and it would work considering the success of the movie,” says an industry source.
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Today, there are three-to-four films starring Dutt which are under production — Abbas-Mastan’s Mr Fraud, Sanjay Gupta’s Alibaug and Sanjay Gadhvi’s Kidnap. The producers of the three films together stand to lose around Rs 70-80-crore now that Dutt is being convicted and behind bars. Besides, Dutt also has two releases — Mehbooba and Indra Kumar’s Dhamaal this year.But the big one is by and large the third part of the Vidhu Vinod Chopra-produced and Raj Kumar Hirani directed Munna Bhai Chale Amerika. “There is a sense of shock and sympathy, which is all pervasive in the film industry after the six-year sentence announced by the court,” says Mr Bhutiani. The production house has gone ahead and canceled its scheduled premier of Naya Daur, which would have taken place on Wednesday.
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