Station Bollywood

Actor Sanjay Dutt, who is fondly called by his fans as Munnabhai, had tied the knot with Manyata, his girlfriend of two years. The 48-year-old filmstar and Manyata, who have been close friends for last two years, have become husband and wife.

The private wedding ceremony took place at the Taj Exotica in Goa on February 7 where they had a court marriage under the Special Marriage Act, in the presence of some close friends as witnesses. Two officers from the registrar of marriages in Goa were called in to solemnise the marriage.

A visibly happy Sanjay Dutt tied the knot with Manyata as per Hindu customs on Monday 11th February, five days after their court marriage in Goa. The rituals took place at a Manyata’s close friend Pradeep’s house. The marriage ceremony took place even as Dutt was shooting for Suniel Shetty's production, EMI. Among those present for the wedding included his close pals Suniel Shetty, Arshad Warsi, director and TV presenter Sajid Khan, Ajay , Prashant and Bunty Walia but his family members gave the wedding a miss. Dharam Oberoi, the CEO of Sanjay Dutt Production also attended the marriage ceremony. The Bollywood star's two younger sisters, Priya and Namrata, and other family relatives did not attend the ceremony. Most of his colleagues from Bollywood were also not present.

The Munnabhai star, accompanied by a few close friends, arrived at Versova, a posh locality in north-west Mumbai, for the ceremony in the morning with the band playing music. The merry-making baratis comprised only a few close childhood friends of the actor. After the ceremony , a beaming Dutt asked the media, "Are you happy with my marriage?". On getting an affirmative reply, he thanked the media and said, "I am also very happy and I thank you for the positive support."

When asked about his daughter Trishala's reaction, Dutt paused and said, "she is happy".

However, Manyata fell short of words to express her emotion and said, "I am so happy that I don't have words to express."

The inquisitive paparazzi were kept strictly away.

"Yes, Sanju is now officially married to Manyata. We all attended the simple private ceremony Monday afternoon. We've never seen Sanju more at peace with himself. He feels his troubles are finally over. And he feels Manyata has brought into his life that stability that was lacking for so many years," said one of the invitees.

"Her entry into his life coincided with the end of Sanju's troubles to a large extent. So he considers her very lucky for him," the invitee added.

The newly weds interacted freely with the media and both were courteous to journalists, unlike in the past when they tried to avoid them.

Happiness was writ large on their faces as they came down from the seventh floor after the rituals were over.

It was years since Sanjay has let himself go in public as uninhibitedly as he did Monday, as a band played the beat of a popular marriage movie song.

Suddenly, the lines of anxiety observed when he had come out of jail last time disappeared from his face as he mingled with the invitees and the waiting media-persons.


When asked why she did not attend, Priya Dutt, Congress MP from northwest Mumbai, feigned ignorance about the ceremony. She said she had come to know about it after television channels telecast the proceedings live.

Apparently, Sanjay has allowed his new wife to take over all his financial dealings. She also handles his new film production company.

In all probability Sanjay's next release would be Suniel Shetty's production EMI. Produced by Suniel's company Popcorn Entertainment, the film also stars Malaika Arora and Urmila Matondkar.

"All his work in EMI is over. We just have a few more days to go. Then the film goes into post-production. We hope to release in May-June 2008," Suniel said.

Sanjay made a brief appearance as himself in Rohit Jugraj's just released Superstar.

"Though harassed by so many problems, Mr. Sanjay Dutt didn't hesitate for a minute in agreeing to be in my film. I wish him all happiness," said Jugraj.

Rumours of their marriage had started doing the rounds after the couple issued an advertisement in newspapers congratulating Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on his 82nd birthday last month. The ad read Mrs & Mrs Dutt.
The couple refused to comment when the news of their marriage surfaced recently. Now, the truth has come out for all to know!! On Monday, the couple was no longer cagey about the whole affair, which was the subject of much speculation since October 2007.

They went out of the way to portray themselves as a happily married couple, unmindful of all the controversies dogging them. They also willingly posed for photographs.

On Feb 9, Manyata attended a public function sporting vermilion, traditional mark of a married Hindu woman, on her forehead, and admitted that she and Sanjay were married.

"The point is, both Sanju and Manyata are happy and that is all that matters today," quipped an invitee.