Jail Diary

Sanjay Dutt's Jail Diary, journey into the mind space of the man serving his term inside the prison continues� into the sixth day Day: 6: Sanjay wakes up with a start in the middle of the night. He recalls consoling his sister Namrata visibly shaken by the chaos outside their home. The media was literally camped outside the bungalow blocking privacy of all the buildings in the neighborhood. She wondered what has happened because it was not like this the last time her brother went to prison. Or was it because the last time dad was there to protect them from all! Day 7: In the evening over dinner Sanjay tells Yusuf Nulwala that he regrets not being allowed to meet Manyata and Priyanka the previous day and wonders when they will be allowed another visit again. It happens at night. Priyanka and Manyata arrive with a special permission and are allowed to spend 20 minutes with him and they are grateful. Sanjay holds both their hands tightly. Priyanka and Manyata weep, not in sorrow but in strength, in unity. When it is time to leave, they hold hands again and smile. Late at night Sanjay and Nulwala continue to chat from the back gate of their cells but after a while both are exhausted and retire to their barracks. Sanjay lies on his mattress in the dark room thinking about his father Sunil Dutt. He wonders where he found the courage to face so many adversities all his life time and again. Sanjay senses a familiar ache returning but makes a conscious effort to brush aside all negative thoughts� Day: 8: Sanjay has barely fallen asleep when he senses somebody waking him up. It is the jail guard asking him to get ready in five minutes as they are leaving the premise to travel to Yerwada in Pune. Sanjay asks if Nulwala is going with him but is given no answers. At 4am when Sanjay steps out he is happy to discover Nulwala traveling in the same car as him.

Two police cars one ahead and the other behind the car carrying Nulwala and Sanjay leave Arthur Road within minutes, accompanied by 15 armed policemen. The convoy takes Pune Express route and there is high alert till they reach inside the high security central jail. At 7am the line of cars drive inside Yerwada Jail premise and Pune city police are taken off guard. Sanjay is sent for his medical examination doctors say he is fine except that he has had no sleep in the last many days. Some more formalities later he is allotted a convict number 16656 and led to his separate room which is in Security barrack III and is 10x8ft room divided with a partition for bath and toilet and sleeping area. There is no electricity in the room but since he is allowed to use a fan following a court order, a connection will now be obtained from outside. He is also permitted home food and the family has made arrangements for that. But since the Tiffin service was not aware of Sanjay's arrival his first day lunch was delivered late and he ate the same for dinner. Day: 9: It is three days since Sanjay has arrived at Yerwada and he spends most of his time catching on his sleep. Yesterday, his old pal Jyotin Goel's Hum Hain Rahi Car Ke released in Sanjay appears in a guest appearance as Inspector Karate. Life is indeed ironical that while he grants justice to all on the big screen, he is at the mercy of law in real life. Today is a day when inmates are allowed to meet family and while the regular visiting hours is in the mornings. Yerwada Suprintendent Yogesh Desai feels it is safer to block a separate time for Sanjay to meet his relatives to avoid distractions so even though Sanjay's family has arrived in the morning they wait till noon for the others to finish and then talk to Sanjay in private. Sanjay arrives in the allotted area wearing the prison cap; he appears composed and spends 30 minutes with his family and lawyer. When time is up, he embraces them all taking care not to show emotion and discreetly returns to his cell. Day: 10: Today, finally, Sanjay is assigned his task in the prison. Everything that happens inside jail is according to procedures. The counselor spends time with the inmates, understands their stamina and temperament after which an appropriate task is drawn for the candidate. For instance the last time, when Sanjay was in prison, he was assigned the task of making cane chairs. Sanjay had never imagined that he had the aptitude to create chairs but he did and one out of these was even auctioned after he was granted bail. Sanjay remembers the daily wages earned from these tasks, he remembers how he saved every penny of his hard work. This time the counselor has allotted him to make paper files. This is also because the authorities want to preserve his security and don't want him to go outside his cell. Day: 11: Sanjay is making paper files thinking about his sister Priya's visit to prison yesterday. She looked weighed down and it is understandable because she has not had any rest since months. The guard brings his tiffin to the cell and informs that there are talks about an order to revoke his request for home food. It is true. Yogesh Desai of Yerwada Central Jail has filed a plea before TADA Court that after the amendment in regulations in 2000 there are no provisions in the prison manual to provide such facility to convicts or under trials. The petition does not come for hearing as the judge is on leave so it will come up again and verdict will be passed after hearing the prosecution and Dutt's defense. Sanjay goes back to making files and surveys the pieces of paper strewn all over the place and for the first time wonders how and when his home/ workplace has got tidied up day after day. There must be a system for his home to always look tidy and how strange that he never paused to notice it till today. Sanjay picks all the wastepaper and pushes them in a corner suddenly full of appreciation for his wife Manyata who maintains an efficient home. He wonders how much daily wages he will be paid this time. During his last stay in the prison he earned rupees 12.50 as an unskilled worker per day and most of it was spent purchasing eatables like biscuits and fruits from the jail canteen and even that had a ceiling of not exceeding rupees 2000 per month. Day: 12: It is 1 pm at PVR Theatre Juhu where the media is invited for an introduction with the cast of Policegiri. As we enter the auditorium we are presented a police cap as a memento. Soon Dutt's family comprising sister Priya Dutt and brother-in-law Kumar Gaurav arrive and take seat in the first row. Producer TP Agarwal talks about the making of the film. He says "Sanjay loved the original Sammy and asked me to purchase the rights for making the film in Hindi. When I did he was as excited as a child to start shooting immediately and it was his passion that made him complete in a record time. Now all I pray is that he is proud of the final product and comes back soon, so that we can work on another film again." Bhawana Somaaya/ twitter: @bhawanasomaaya