Sanjay Dutt has cleared the air after a comment he made about no longer feeling “peace” in India began circulating online.
The Bollywood actor appeared on Shekhar Suman’s talk show Shekhar Tonite for a Gandhi Jayanti episode, where he spoke about the country and brought his popular Munnabhai character into the conversation.
During the conversation, Dutt said Indians were “large-hearted” and welcoming, before adding that he felt the sense of peace in the country had changed.
According to Indian media reports, Dutt said: “The people of this country are so lovely. There should be peace here. I can’t feel that peace in our country anymore.”
As clips from the episode circulated online, the comment quickly attracted attention and sparked debate over what the actor meant.
Dutt has now responded, saying the exchange was scripted and intended to be humorous.
Taking to X, the actor said he never intended to “hurt, offend, or disrespect” anyone with his remarks.
I would like to clarify that it was never my intention to hurt, offend, or disrespect the sentiments of any individual, community, or institution.
My remarks were made in the context of a scripted conversation intended to be light-hearted and humorous. The spirit behind them was similar to the humour and satire seen in films like Munna Bhai, particularly the concept of ‘Gandhigiri,’ which was intended to convey a message of love, warmth, togetherness, and goodwill. Unfortunately, my words were interpreted outside of that intended context.
— Sanjay Dutt (@duttsanjay) October 4, 2026
He explained that the conversation was meant to be light-hearted, comparing its humour to his Munnabhai films and the idea of “Gandhigiri” made popular by Lage Raho Munna Bhai.
According to Dutt, the intention was to communicate “love, warmth, togetherness, and goodwill”, but his words were interpreted outside their original context.
The actor also brought Munnabhai back during another part of the episode when he was asked to imagine becoming India’s prime minister for five minutes.
During the conversation, Dutt also referenced Mahatma Gandhi’s three monkeys, saying there should now be a fourth.
He questioned who would correct something wrong if people simply chose not to look at it, turning the conversation into the kind of social commentary associated with his films.
The appearance comes two decades after Lage Raho Munna Bhai was released in 2006.
The Rajkumar Hirani film saw Dutt return as Munnabhai alongside Arshad Warsi as Circuit, with its take on Gandhi’s teachings helping popularise the term “Gandhigiri”.
This time, however, Dutt’s return to that style of humour played out on a talk show rather than the big screen, with the actor later having to explain the context behind one of the episode’s most talked about comments.
Source: Khaleej Times