Sunil Dutt's emotional directness makes him a compelling melodramatic actor, though he can be too emphatic. His gentler romantic work and comic timing deserve attention alongside Birju's rebellion in Mother India.
Fi1m perspective
Sunil Dutt can hold a stare until the feeling behind it is impossible to miss. That directness suits Mother India (1957), where his rebellious Birju belongs to a cast playing at full force. We find him convincing within that melodramatic scale, but wish he and the film would vary the intensity more often. Director Mehboob Khan makes the emotions plain, and Dutt gives him the physical presence to make those large responses credible.
Nargis's Radha remains the reason to see the film. We were moved by her endurance, though the repeated emphasis on her suffering wore us down. Dutt has to be judged within that approach: the size of his performance suits the storytelling. The reservation is that Birju, like the people around him, could use more moments when the feeling is less insistently expressed.
The move to Adhir in Sujata (1959) shows why Birju should not define him. With Bimal Roy directing and Nutan opposite him, Dutt could offer the quieter romantic presence that also became part of his work. He returned to a dangerous man in Mujhe Jeene Do (1963), playing the dacoit Thakur Jarnail Singh, whose conscience gave him more to work with than simple menace.
He also wrote, directed and produced the experimental solo-actor film Yaadein (1964). That is a considerable commitment to carrying a film through one performance, and an unusual choice for a leading man. In Padosan (1968), his comic timing and the simple, endearing Bhola offered a welcome alternative to the intense parts.
The later career brought supporting roles, ending with Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003). Start with Mother India for Dutt's force, accepting that it is Nargis's film and that its repetitions ask for patience. Then try Sujata before deciding that he always needed to make his feelings quite so plain.
Biography
Sunil Dutt was an Indian actor, producer, director and politician. He made his film debut in Railway Platform (1955) and rose to prominence with his role as Birju in Mother India (1957). He appeared in more than 80 films over five decades, including Sujata (1959), Mujhe Jeene Do (1963), Waqt (1965), Milan (1967) and Padosan (1968).
Dutt married actress Nargis in 1958; she died in 1981. Their children include actor Sanjay Dutt and politician Priya Dutt. He received the Padma Shri in 1968. Later in his career he entered politics as a member of the Indian National Congress, serving five terms as a Member of Parliament for Mumbai North West and as Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports.
Dutt was born in Jhelum and died in Mumbai on 25 May 2005.
