Sanjay Dutt Shot for Rocky While His Mother Nargis Was in a Coma: Throwback

Legendary actress Nargis Dutt, Sanjay Dutt’s mother, passed away from pancreatic cancer in 1981 at the age of 51. She died just days before the release of Sanjay’s debut film, Rocky. More than four decades after her death, Sanjay has opened up about the traumatic period his family endured while Nargis battled the disease. In an interview with the AIG Hospitals YouTube channel, the actor recalled how his father, Sunil Dutt, made the difficult decision to send him back to India to complete his debut film while his mother was critically ill.

Sanjay recalled that Nargis was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and underwent intensive treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. The family travelled to the United States as she received treatment.

“The family travelled to the United States. I was very young then, about 20, and my sisters were younger than me. We did everything we could. But there were a lot of complications with her, and to see my mother go through all that was traumatic,” Sanjay recollected.

Despite the severity of her condition, Nargis remained determined to return home. Sanjay remembered how she continued fighting and hoped to make it back to India.

While Nargis was undergoing treatment, the shooting of Sanjay’s debut film Rocky had been stalled because of her deteriorating health. With the actor’s debut hanging in the balance, Sunil Dutt was faced with an agonising decision.

“My father asked me to go back to India to complete the film Rocky while my mother was in a coma,” Sanjay revealed. The actor admitted that he struggled to understand his father’s decision at the time. “I couldn’t comprehend why I should complete the film when my mother was in a coma,” he recalled.

Nevertheless, Sanjay returned to India and completed the shooting. Meanwhile, Nargis continued to fight and eventually returned home. However, her condition deteriorated, and the family eventually lost her. “We lost her after she returned here,” Sanjay said, reflecting on the painful chapter of his life.

Sanjay also remembered Sunil Dutt as a strict father and acknowledged that he inherited many of his values from him.

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