'We don’t know if Sanju is married or not'
Namrata Dutt and Kumar Gaurav, both come from similar family backgrounds, both are ferociously private and both have similar tastes in just about anything.
In a rare interview together, Namrata Dutt and Kumar Gaurav talk about the secret behind their 23-year-old marriage and family, including the former’s actor brother Sanjay Dutt
MUMBAI: They say opposites attract…funny then how most of them seem to be heading for splitsville. Fortunately, for Namrata Dutt and Kumar Gaurav, there’s nothing ‘opposite’ about them. Both come from similar family backgrounds, both are ferociously private and both have similar tastes in just about anything. Boring, you would say? “Not at all; we have our fun,” says Namrata, who has 23 solid years of marriage with Bunty (as Kumar Gaurav is fondly known) to back her statement.
The unpredictable Sanjay Dutt
No interview with any of the Dutt’s can begin without talking about the Dutt of the moment - superstar Sanjay. Ask Namrata if rumours of Sanjay being married to Manyata are true and she surprisingly says, “We don’t know whether Sanju is married or not.” But has the family accepted Sanjay’s new lady love? Husband Bunty quips, “As long as Sanjay is happy, that’s what matters,” as Namrata adds, “We are cordial with Manyata.
In any case, families must give each other space.” Tell them the interest is more because Manyata comes as a surprise and she says, “Everything Sanju does is a surprise!” For now, the duo, like the rest of the family, is praying hard that Sanjay’s legal woes end and he doesn’t go back to jail. “At the end of the day freedom is what matters most, without that there can be nothing - no career, no life, nothing,” says Namrata.
A ‘Love Story’
His debut film under his father Rajendra Kumar’s banner ‘Love Story’ catapulted him to superstardom instantly in the ‘80s, but Bunty’s real love story with Namrata was anything but sudden or dramatic. Their families knew each other since they were kids, they lived on the same road… “I am an extremely reserved person and find it very difficult to make friends. But with Bunty, I connected instantly. We are so similar,” she says.
Ask him if he misses the limelight and Bunty says, “Acting is definitely my first love, but I will not just sign on any movie for the heck of it. I don’t miss the public eye at all!”. Bunty runs a travel company as well as his father’s business. His dream, however, is to “start a small shack kind of restaurant in the Maldives.”
Family ties
After 23 years, Bunty is most certainly a Dutt, always by the family’s side when in crises. “This is my family,” he says, revealing how pa-in-law the late MP/actor Sunil Dutt and he were very close, “He treated me like his son and was so close to both our daughters.”
As for Namrata, no one can really question her loyalty to her family. “Most families break apart under pressure, but for us family comes first,” she says. When mum and actor Nargis Dutt passed away fairly early in their lives, she immediately took over the reigns. “I didn’t want any other woman to take over; it would have been difficult for Sanju, Priya (her MP sister) and me to adjust. So I consciously decided to take over the house and tried to run it to the best of my abilities.
I don’t think I sacrificed anything. True, I missed out a lot on what teens do, but I had a great childhood and great friends,” says Namrata. Of course, her dad was her biggest support. “He was both our mom and dad. I miss him every single day!”