Blame it on their names. It’s not just the alphabet ‘S’ that’s similar. ‘S’ for Sanjay, Salman, scandal, or even sentence if you like. Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan also have a guru-shishya relationship. It was Sanjay who started the macho gym-and-tonic route to stardom that was faithfully followed by Salman, along with completely unconfirmed noises about steroid abuse. Besides driving recklessly which has landed them both in trouble in the past, Sanjay and Salman have also had an affinity for firearms — son of a gun, that’s just what has got each of them a stint in the slammer. They’ve each also had/got a sensible father in common — ‘S’ for Sunil Dutt and Salim Khan; two worried men who (have) spent half their senior citizen lives keeping their first-born offspring out of serious legal trouble.

But the similarities end there as the wave of sympathy for Sanjay Dutt (initially charged with a more serious crime against the state) has been much stronger than the support shown for Salman. Of course, one of the reasons is that the over-the-top Bombaywallahs have exhausted themselves over the Dutt sentence, leaving them with little enthusiasm for another bout of high-decibel protests. Besides, the complete lack of concern shown by the Dutt-backers for contempt of court proceedings and the backlash it attracted from those who knew the law better, seems to have been on the collective mind of Bollywood this time around.

Sanju and Sallu are like two peas in a pod (they are also known for their large-hearted good deeds) in their common distaste for the media. Long before the media got intrusive with a hundred TV cameras trailing them 24X7, Sanjay Dutt had declared war on most of them. Fifteen years ago when Anupam Kher had slapped a Stardust journalist (not for a story that had been published but for asking him a question that had offended him) and whipped up support from his colleagues to have the press banned from the film industry, Sanjay Dutt had led the battle cry of ‘render all journalists jobless and on the road’. While most stars had made anti-media statements, Sanjay and Salman were the two who’d got worked up and used un-reined lingo like ‘hit’, ‘slap’, ‘kill’ the media. Sunil Dutt had been alive then but the ban fizzled out, tempers cooled and language got more temperate only when Sanjay was suddenly found, figuratively speaking, with a smoking gun and a jail sentence staring him in the face. That took the bluster out of him.

So, even if he can’t stand the media or would love to rough up the suburban rickshaw wallahs who come in the way of his Hummers or BMWs, Sanjay today has learnt the Dutt family trait of political diplomacy and cloaks his sentiments well. He is just as difficult to pin down for an interview as Salman is, but he won’t show his sneer as openly as the younger star does. For instance, Dutt’s swagger made him specialise in waving out to fawning fans while muttering an obscenity under his breath about them.

Salman has always been a little more genuine in his interaction with fans. And, to his detriment, suffers from the disability to be diplomatic about his colleagues. If he hates John Abraham, he openly says, ‘I don’t know any man by that name’. If he’s unforgiving about Viveik Oberoi’s press conference (held four years ago) exposing Salman’s 42 threatening calls, he remains unrelenting even in public. None of these long-drawn-out wars with his own colleagues and with the media wins Salman any brownie points. This is in complete contrast with the diplomatic Sanju who is a master at smiling at the enemy. Today, Sanju may have decided to withdraw his unstinting support to old friend Sanjay Gupta. Reportedly, when the actor was in Yerawada before he got bail, Sanjay Gupta was the one person from the Dutt coterie who was not allowed inside the Imperial Heights building. But catch Sanju saying a word against Gupta in public. He’ll carry on the all’s well charade till kingdom come. The two peas thus wear contrasting colours.

But one thing is for sure: today the jail manual may be their common reading. However, Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan are actors who have legions of fans waiting for them with duas. Hopefully, the two bad boys will come out as better men who’ve made their peace with the demons of the past.

Bharathi S. Pradhan is managing editor of Movie Mag International