Happy Birthday Sanjay Dutt: Iconic roles played by Bollywood's original Khalnayak

Khalnayak - This was one of Sanjay Dutt’s most popular films where he plays a grey character. The Subash Ghai directorial perfectly captures Sanjay Dutt’s transition from nasty criminal to a law abiding citizen. The movie is also remembered for the famous song Choli Ke Peeche which became instant hit among the audience during its release.

Vaastav - The film, which released in 1999, was said to be loosely based on the life of Mumbai underworld. Also featuring Namrata Shirodkar, late Reema Lagoo in pivotal roles, the film was very well received by both critics and audiences. 'Vaastav' was amongst the highest grossing Hindi films of the year. Sanjay Dutt won rave reviews for his performance and he even won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

Munna Bhai MBBS - Sanjay Dutt showed a whole different character and aced various layers- one being a student, doctor, lover as well as a rebel against injustice to the students. Besides, his jaadu ki jhappi won the hearts of the audience. The movie featured Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Gracy Singh and Boman Irani in lead roles.

Agneepath - A rare film in which Dutt is seen playing a negative character. The audiences loved this side of the actor which was totally opposite from Sanjay Dutt's real-self. He bulky body and baldness made the character look more evil. The movie also featured Priyanka Chopra, Hrithik Roshan, and Rishi Kapoor.

Saajan - Sanjay Dutt played the role of a lame orphan who gets adopted by a wealthy family. He grows up as a sincere person with a hidden talent of writing poems and had a pen name Sagar. The movie is best remembered for its iconic songs by Nadeem-Shravan.

Rocky - Directed by his father Sunil Dutt, Rocky, was the film that catapulted Sanjay Dutt to stardom. The film established his image as a romantic action star in 1981. His new style and love for bikes established him as a youth icon of the 80s.