Sanjay Dutt has issued a clarification after remarks he made on Shekhar Suman’s chat show ‘Shekhar Tonite’ sparked a row online. Appearing on the show’s Gandhi Jayanti special, Dutt said, “The people of this country are so lovely. There should be peace here. I can’t feel that peace in our country anymore,” adding that Indians are large-hearted and hospitable people and that he prays to Shivji for those days to return. The comments were widely read as political commentary and drew sharp reactions across social media.
The appearance also featured a five-minute Munna Bhai-style mock prime minister address, with Dutt joking that he wouldn’t travel abroad as PM, proposing that leaders’ photos in public be replaced with Mahatma Gandhi’s image, calling for a “fourth monkey” against staying silent on wrongdoing, and even referring to Donald Trump as “Trump mamu” while pitching Gandhigiri — flowers, phone calls and tea — over threats.
On Sunday, Dutt posted a clarification on X, saying it was never his intention to hurt or disrespect the sentiments of any individual, community or institution. His remarks, he said, were part of a scripted conversation intended to be light-hearted and humorous — in the spirit of Munna Bhai’s ‘Gandhigiri’, a message of love, warmth, togetherness and goodwill — and were unfortunately taken out of context.
