Sanjay Dutt - Charity / Religiosity
Sanjay Dutt on December 17, 2006
with children who, successfully, underwent a drug rehab
Sanjay's Charity
"If you have it, give it." (Sanjay Dutt)
"When you're in trouble, turn to Munnabhai." (Sharin Wader)
"It's people like Sanjay who make our world a better place." (Achala Sachdev)
Sanjay does a great deal for many charitable purposes and goes out of his way when he can help people. Among other things, he works with patients suffering from AIDS, cancer and spastic paralysis. After Sunil Dutt's death he took on his father's legacy including his charitable institutions, e.g. the Nargis Dutt Memorial Foundation, founded by Sunil in memory of Nargis, which provides access to medical treatment for indigent cancer patients. He also supports the CPAA (Cancer Parents Aids Association); in this CPAA Newsletter you'll find a heartwarming report about how Sanjay fulfilled the last wish of a 16-year-old blood cancer patient. The NGO RareBloodGroops also can always rely on Sanjay and his support.
Understandably, an important concern to Sanjay is drug prevention and help for drug addicts. He supports the NGO SUPPORT (Society Undertaking Poor People's Onus for Rehabilitation), helping street children to get away from drugs, and is available as a consultant for drug addicts at any time. He doesn't shy away from talking in public about his drug phase, just to prevent other people from making the same mistake as he did respectively to give them the courage to fight their addiction - if he could make it, others can make it, too.
A photo from Stardust Annual 1997: Sanju plays with children
from the Akanksha Foundation, an NGO working with underprivileged
children in the slums to make them educated and self-raliant in life.
Sanjay has a great love for children. Often he visits orphanages and children wards in hospitals to play with the children, or he spontaneously invites them for a ride in his car. He also organizes events whose proceeds he provides to projects for children. Working for the NGO Support, he often invites drug-addicted street children to his home, and they just love their Sanju bhayya (or Munnabhai, as they also lovingly call him) and would do everything to be with him - even kicking drugs...
(Here you can find the heart-warming article "The Modern Messiah" from 1997 about Sanjay's work with slum children for the Akanksha Foundation.)
Another NGO Sanjay willingly became brand ambassador for is "Save the Children", founded by the late Vipula Kadri, mother of Mana (Sunil) Shetty: "The fact the Sanjay Dutt is very closely involved with many charitable causes is known to one and all. Adding yet another feather to his already impressive cap of social work, Sanjay Dutt would now be seen as the face of ‘Save the Children’." (IndiaFM, December 7, 2007)
This love for children and his love for his late father ewoked plans in Sanjay for a foundation named by Sunil Dutt which shall give access to education to underprivileged children. This foundation shall be linked to the Nargis Dutt Cancer Foundation.
To support unit members like technicians and spot boys in financial distress, Sanjay in 2003 founded together with Suniel Shetty and Ajay Devgan the Actors Association ASS, which among other things organizes benefit events.
His generosity supports all people in need. This report about a peon whom Sanjay gave the money he needed for the surgery of his six-month-old daughter Shravani, who is born with a cardiac defect, is just one example of many.
Together with his sister Priya Sanjay founded the One Tree Foundation which primarily works for environment protection. Every year, together with his family members, Sanjay organizes the One Tree Music Festival and invites famous musicians to come over to India; the proceeds go to charity projects.
Another project Sanjay's heart beats for is Team Tiger, fighting for saving the tigers in India.
And forever linked with his name will be the great Help Concert after that horrible Tsunami in December 2004, for it was none other than Sanjay Dutt who then immediately grasped the initiative respectively the receiver and coordinated this fabulous benefit event.
"I’ve never taken advantage of my name for personal gain but I don’t think twice before doing so if I feel it will benefit someone. In the past, I’ve used my name to get poor kids admitted into a school and to get medical treatment for those who can’t afford it." (Sanjay Dutt, in: Filmfare 10/2005)
"If you have it, give it." (Sanjay Dutt, in: Filmfare 12/2004)
Sanjay Dutt in September 2007
P.S. Sanjay's good example inspires even his fans to good deeds. For example, his fans in Germany made several donations to SUPPORT (March 2008, July 2008).
More information about Sanjay's golden heart please find here.
Sanjay's Religiosity
"I believe in God and I recite prayers of various religions. I’ve also read many religious books and they only tell you to be a good human being and to be thankful to God." (Sanjay Dutt)
As a son of a Hindu father and a Muslim mother, Sanjay respects not only these two but all religions. He himself is Hindu and extremely religious. He firmly believes that God will always protect him and never leaves the house without saying a prayer. The Dutt family regularly performs poojas at home and in temples. From his faith Sanjay gains most of his admirable inner strength which helps him facing and passing the ordeals and turbulencies in his life.
Sanjay and Sunil Dutt at a pooja
