When Sanjay Dutt comes under the spell of Gandhi and confesses to Vidya Balan that he is a goon, there’s a wide round of applause. When he puts to shame an official who bribes a retired schoolmaster, the cheer is louder. Gandhigiri zindabad! Sanju baba zindabad!

Thanks to Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Sanjay Dutt has emerged a hero. A man who wears his discovery of Gandhi on his sleeves. A new-age Gandhian who has created a new wave of awareness about the father of nation.

Ironically, contrary to this newfound image, Dutt – son of yesteryear film stars Nargis and Sunil Dutt – has only been a black sheep of his family, always stirring up controversies. And his life had the ingredients of a Bollywood thriller – with a mix of action, stunts and crime.

Sanjay took to drugs at a young age. His mother’s premature death due to cancer worsened the situation. But soon, the man overcame his addiction, visiting a rehabilitation centre in the US. He then decided to turn a new leaf – by foraying into Bollywood with the film Rocky in 1981.

But Sanjay always carried an enfant terrible image and failed to get going in the film industry. Nevertheless, putting critics to rest, he made a comeback – moving from the lover boy image of Rocky to gritty action roles in films like Khalnayak and Thanedaar in the 1990s. Life suddenly looked better.

But misfortune struck him again. Wife Richa died of brain tumour. Losing the custody of his baby daughter was a bigger sorrow. Sanjay married again; that too was a failure.

But the biggest shock was yet to hit his family and the nation at large – Sanjay was announced an accused in the Mumbai blasts that killed 257 people.

He was charged with illegally possessing an AK-56 rifle, a 9 mm pistol during the 1993 blasts and for destroying the rifle under the TADA Act and the Arms Act. He was arrested on April 19, 1993, and released on bail three months later.

But was re-arrested on July 14 and remained in jail for 18 months before he was granted bail. Sanjay’s life- till date – has been controversial. But his fans nevertheless stood by him, always. After he stepped out of jail, the tinsel world gave him a few memorable roles in Parineetha, Dus, Kaante, LOC Kargil, Pitaah, Jodi No.1, Raju Chacha, Kurukshetra, Mission Kashmir, Jung and Vaastav to name a few. Awards and accolades followed.

But it was Munnabhai MBBS and Lage Raho…that gave him the ultimate gift – a new image, that of a ‘new-age’ Gandhian. Now that he is going to be jailed, will that image persist? Well, that’s a big question.

As of now he is free from jail till Decemebr 18, 2006. After that it will depend on the course of his advocates.

The special TADA court in Mumbai has held Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt guilty under the Arms Act for possession of illegal weapons while clearing him of any criminal conspiracy in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts.

It has not been decided yet whether he would be put in police custody immediately or he would be served a notice first before being taken into custody.

The minimum sentence for the charges under which Dutt has been found guilty is three years. The 18 months that Sanjay Dutt has already served in jail will be deducted from the sentence he is likely to be given.

TADA court judge Pramod Kode has not sentenced any of the convicts in the blasts case as yet.

Dutt will now be in jail until the sentence is pronounced. The court of appeal for TADA courts is Supreme Court. Appeals can be made within a period of 28 days.

Legal experts say Dutt’s lawyers will try and move the high court, saying he has been convicted not under TADA, but the Arms Act.

Dutt will continue to serve his sentence until his appeal comes up for hearing.

If the court finds sufficient grounds for letting the actor free, he may get interim bail. Dutt may then be free.

But until a higher court delivers its final verdict, he will be required to spend some more time in jail.

Dutt can approach a higher court as soon as tomorrow as there are no other legalities involved in the process.

TADA court judge Pramod Kode has not sentenced any of the convicts in the blasts case as yet.

Dutt, who is accused number 117 in the serial blasts case, was convicted for keeping three AK-56 rifles, its ammunition, a 9 mm pistol, its cartridges and hand grenades in a notified area.

All these weapons were part of a consignment smuggled in by Tiger Memon to set off a series of blasts in Mumbai on March 12, 1993.

Students of Aligarh Muslim University, protesting against the procedure followed for calculating attendance, on Monday offered flowers to varsity officials and took up brooms in the ‘Gandhigiri’ style popularised by Bollywood hit Lage Raho Munnabhai .

Leaders of the AMU Students Union swept the road with brooms in front of the Registrar’s office after having earlier presented flowers to senior University officials as part of their agitation continuing since the past two days.

The union is demanding action against the Dean, Faculty of Management and another teacher of the same faculty.

Their major demand pertains to granting permission to a student to appear in an examination in the faculty of Business Administration after his attendance had fallen short of the mandatory minimum percentage.

The students have alleged that a “faulty procedure” was being adopted for calculating attendance in classes. On the other hand, the University authorities made it clear that they were not ready to relent on the issue of relaxing the minimum required attendance criteria.

The AMU had on Saturday suspended a student for allegedly trying to disrupt the examination on November 12. The President of AMU Students Union Nafees Ahmad has also been issued a show-cause notice in this connection.

AMU Vice-Chancellor Naseem Ahmad on Monday appealed to the students not to embroil the university in any agitation pertaining to relaxation of attendance criteria “because in the long term, effects of such a move would be very harmful”.

In an open letter to the students, he said a senior official would hold a time-bound probe into the issue.

Lage Raho Munnabhai’s phenonmenal concept of Gandhigiri did create quite a few waves in India. The Sanjay Dutt starrer — Lage Raho Munnabhai — which has been a super success in India and has raked in moolah for it producers, is now all set to be showcased in the auditorium of the United Nations. After taking the country by storm and making an independent entry to the Oscars, Lage Raho has added another feather to its cap.

A straight jacketed organisation like the United Nations, which deals with serious international issues like law, security and international development, will now be given a lesson or two in Gandhigiri and that too, by none other than the lovable Bollywood icon ‘Munnabhai’. The film ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai has become the first full length Indian movie to be showcased in the auditorium of the United Nations and it seems that the movie has won immense praise and accolades from diplomats, staff and journalists alike.

Bollywood blockbuster ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’, which resurrected Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals through “Gandhigiri”, has become the first full length Indian movie to be shown in the United Nations auditorium and has won praise from diplomats, staff and journalists alike.

The Sanjay Dutt starrer, produced by Vinod Chopra and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, was shown last evening as a part centennial observation of the first Satyagraha launched by Mahatma Gandhi.

Besides providing fun, the  blockbuster has renewed interest in the philosophy of Gandhi at a time when it is needed most in the conflict ridden world.