Sanjay Dutt is miffed over unofficial biography; publisher vows not to release ‘any more extracts’

Karan Bhardwaj

March 21, 2018
4 min read
Juggernaut Books Sanjay Dutt Yasser Usman

Actor Sanjay Dutt & publisher Juggernaut Books are in a legal row over biography by Yasser Usman. By Karan Bhardwaj

Sanjay Dutt’s unofficial biography, Sanjay Dutt: The Crazy Untold Story of Bollywood’s Bad Boy, written by TV anchor-author Yasser Usman, might have gone viral but the actor doesn’t seem to be impressed by the book. He released his official statement on his Twitter handle, slamming the author and publisher Juggernaut Books for releasing biography without seeking his permission.

Dutt also revealed on his Twitter that he had sent legal notice to the publisher, who responded by telling him that the book was based on his old interviews and articles published in various newspapers and magazines. “I hope better sense will prevail and there will be no further excerpts that will hurt me or my family. My official autobiography will be out soon which will be authentic and based on facts,” Sanjay Dutt tweeted along with an attachment that reads detailed message by the actor. He is also contemplating the next course of legal action.

I hope better sense will prevail and there will be no further excerpts that will hurt me or my family. My official autobiography will be out soon which will be authentic and based on facts. pic.twitter.com/iOiazTRc6n

— Sanjay Dutt (@duttsanjay) March 20, 2018

We contacted the author who has refrained from commenting on the matter as of now. However, after Dutt’s outburst on Twitter, Juggernaut has released official response on social media. Below is their response:

We are sorry to hear that Mr Sanjay Dutt was upset by our book on him. The author, Yasser Usman, an award-winning journalist and reputed writer on Bollywood actors, is a fan and very sympathetic to Mr Dutt. Yasser has chosen his sources and materials with care. He has relied extensively on direct quotes from Mr Dutt, his close associates such as Mr Mahesh Bhatt, and members of the Dutt family. Additionally, Yasser has referred to stories already in the public record for many years that were uncontested and widely reported. These stories that have appeared in leading film periodicals have relied on accounts of credible and authoritative sources, people who have either worked closely with or been associated in various capacities with Mr Dutt. The book has been painstakingly footnoted, and the sources the book has relied upon have clearly been mentioned.

Moreover, as has been said in most of Yasser’s interviews and pieces in the press, he is a huge admirer of Mr Dutt’s honesty and lack of pretense and believes these qualities meaningfully set him apart from the rest of the film industry. The book is a homage to those admirable and rare traits of honesty and frankness.

However, to pay respect to Mr Dutt’s wishes, we won’t put out any more extracts from the book in short-form media.

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