Priya Dutt “I am quite disillusioned with politics”

The energetic social crusader and the daughter of Sunil Dutt and Nargis Dutt tells JYOTHI VENKATESH that her dad never let them feel the vacuum left behind by Nargis Dutt.

 

Would you have entered politics had your father Duttsaab not chosen politics?
I would not have entered politics if I was not the daughter of Duttsaab, who, incidentally had also entered politics just by chance. Dad had never thought of entering politics. I joined it because of circumstances when dad died after being in active politics for 25 years. Why, I did not even join Youth Congress. I was married and even had my first child and hence the thought did not come in my mind that I should join politics.

Why did you embrace politics?
I had accompanied my dad on his padayatras and I too was involved a lot with my work in spastics’ society and people felt that I should follow in dad’s footsteps in politics. I joined because a lot of people who were fond of Duttsaab were devastated after his death and urged me on to take up politics.

What are your fond memories of Duttsaab?
I have many wonderful and fond memories of my dad.. Being with him was a learning experience. During his political tenure, I got an opportunity to see a different side of his as a leader and a people’s person who was deeply connected to them. I did not see him just as my dad.

I tried to make a film on child prostitution but gave up after a year and a half because I did not get funds.

What did you like the best about dad?
Dad never forgot his roots because power and fame never went to his head at all, unlike some other people in politics or films who do not remember their roots. Dad was always grateful to the people of our country for reposing their trust in him, first as an actor and later as a politician. Dad used to talk about how partition changed his life. He was a great dad. When mom was alive he was very strict with us and imposed on us strict rules which we had to follow. We had to have dinner with him and watching TV was strictly forbidden. We were not allowed to come home after sunset, though he never prevented us from doing anything about which we were passionate.

Did you see a different side of his after mum died?
Yes. After mom’s death, dad became very mellow and subdued especially since all three of us- Namrata, Sanju and I were in our teens and bhaiya had to grapple with his drug problem and dad reaiised that he had to play both the roles of the dad as well as the mom. Dad never let us feel the vacuum created by mom’s death. Dad stopped shedding tears and focused all his attention on bhaiya to help him get rid of his addiction. Duttsaab was a hands -on dad. Never even once did he miss any of the family functions including the school programmes of his grand children. He was a very committed human being.

Did he discriminate between his son and daughters?
Never. There was no discrimination between his son and us daughters and gave us a free hand in making our decisions.Namrata got married at a very young age to Kumar Gaurav . It was her own choice. Dad was a very broad minded dad. I too opted for a love marriage. Dad used to tell us that he could only advise us what to do and what not to but the ultimate decision was up to us. He always told us if you fall in love, do not delay the marriage. Sanju also opted for a love marriage. Dad was disciplined, not just strict and we knew our limitations very well and also the repercussions if we did something wrong. As an actor, he loved his work and was very passionate about films and never used to think about budgeting when he set out to make films which also had a pertinent message whether it was Mujhe Jeene Do or Dard Ka Rishta

How was his stint in politics?
When he came into politics, he realized that he could not divide his time between politics and films and hence focused on politics completely. Dad never bothered about lobbying for any post as a Minister. The most unhappy time when I saw dad was when he was the Sports Minister, He loved sports so much that he was disturbed the conditions of the sportsman but could not do much on his own because of bureaucratic bungling and felt that he was caged and caught in a jail. He used to work till 11 pm every day, to the consternation of the workers in his Ministry.

What memories do you have of your mom?
Mom was a very vivacious woman. She was very influential in my life though I spent only a very short time with her. Mom was always ready to attend any social function as a chief guest. Every weekend she used to take all of us kids on a picnic to Powai Lake or Aarey Milk Colony on picnis. Dad used to accompany us to Tulsi Lake or Vihar Lake whenever he managed to get time. I never knew that my mom was so extremely popular as she had given up acting when we were growing up.

You are not in active politics these days. Why?
To tell you the truth, I am quite disillusioned with politics because I do not get to see people like my dad. That is the reason today I am neither an M.P or in politics. I feel that with your work, you can have power and position and you need not take up politics for that.

What is your strength as a politician?
I do not have any kind of insecurity, That is my strength because I do not have anything to lose. Though there were plenty of people who plotted against me thinking I would become insecure.

Though your parents were in to acting, the acting bug did not bite you. Why?
Acting bug did not at all bite me. I was into TV production but that was in a very nascent stage when I wanted to make a documentary on mom but no one wanted to encourage me. I managed to make a film on mom thanks to Films Division. I tried to make a film on child prostitution gave up after trying to make it for a year and a half because I did not get funds.

Why do you think you lost in the last elections?
The reason that I lost is the disassociation by the people with the Congress when the BJP wave turned away the attention of the people who wanted a change in 2014.

Do you think that the Congress party will come back to power?
Frankly, I do not think that I can say a yes or no to this question because we are now living in a different time zone and Congress has not faced this kind of opposition. It is time we did a lot of introspection as we cannot compare with what the situation was even 15 years ago. We have to appease the new generation which is born in the digital world and has not seen landlines and typewriters.

How do you keep yourself busy nowadays?
I am busy with the Nargis Dutt Foundation that my dad had started 37 years ago when mom passed away. I did not want to mix my NGO with politics. Our Foundation has given away medical equipment worth over 4 million dollars to various hospitals all over India. We have also developed a school in Palghar, besides adopting 150 girl children two years ago. We give Sunil Dutt scholarship for higher studies. We have provided clean toilets and drinking water and are having a holistic approach.

What is your view on P.M Mr Modi?
I thought his campaign was fought precisely when he came to power after the BJP won the elections, but I wonder what happened to his vision after they came to power as everything fell down like a pack of cards. People today do not know who else is there in the government other than Mr Modi. My disappointment is that he has not been able to give the answers to many questions that the people ask, as he is my Prime Minister too. He has good and excellent initiatives but they are not being translated on ground. His move to demonetize was a failure as only 11 cr was mopped in black money though he demonetized 67,000 cr. Common people were in peril. It is his failure. Even his GST move as backfired because there is no proper plan. You should have a backup plan if you want to do anything big.

What is your message to our readers?
People who read your magazine belong to the very elite society. All that I can tell
them is that they should try to give back to the society a little bit and it will go a long way to create a better society for the innocent kids as they are the future citizens of the world who will take off in a big way tomorrow.