Over the years, Sanjay Dutt’s interactions with the paparazzi have frequently gone viral—sometimes for his trademark swag and humour, and at other times for his unfiltered, moody outbursts. From joking with photographers and asking for “masala” to sternly telling them to go home and celebrate Diwali with their families, Dutt’s equation with the media has remained unpredictable and candid.A particularly well-known video from a Diwali party, which resurfaces almost every festive season, shows the actor losing his temper and verbally confronting photographers. Another clip from 2017 captured him humorously offering alcohol to media personnel, while a 2018 video showed him using expletives while addressing the bosses of photographers. Now, paparazzo Varinder Chawla has recalled several such moments while speaking to Siddharth Kannan.
‘Baba would ask, “Do you drink?” and then force us to drink with him’
Recalling Sanjay Dutt’s larger-than-life presence on set, Varinder shared an anecdote that left him laughing. “Many times, Baba would call us over during his shoots and ask, ‘Oye, idhar aa… do you drink?’” he said.Explaining how the situation would escalate, Varinder added, “If we said no because we were working, he would insist, saying, ‘I feel like you drink.’ Others would back him up, and he would then force us to drink with him. We had no choice.”Highlighting Dutt’s influence, he said, “He’s such a big celebrity that even non-drinkers would end up sitting and drinking with him.”Varinder laughed as he summed up those moments, saying, “We would sit outside his house and drink with him.” The anecdote echoed several viral videos from the past where Sanjay Dutt is seen casually engaging with photographers during private celebrations.
‘I thought I would get beaten up, but he said, “Let him go”’
Despite his occasional public confrontations with the paparazzi, Varinder described Sanjay Dutt as a kind and protective figure in his own life, even calling him a “messiah.” Recalling a defining incident, he said, “At one point in my career, I bought a second-hand Maruti Zen.”Narrating what followed, Varinder said, “Once, while Sanjay Dutt was shooting at Filmistan, I clicked his pictures and was about to leave when I accidentally hit his vanity van while reversing.”He added, “His people immediately surrounded me and demanded money. The cost of my car wasn’t even close to the damage they claimed. I was sure I was going to get beaten up.”
‘At that moment, he felt like my messiah’
Varinder recalled how the situation turned around the moment Sanjay Dutt intervened. “When Sanjay Dutt came down and asked, ‘What happened?’ I told him I had hit his van,” he said.Describing the actor’s response, Varinder added, “He turned to his people and said, ‘Let him go.’ At that moment, he felt like my messiah.” Concluding the anecdote, Varinder said, “He has always been a very chill guy.”
