Sanjay Dutt's wife Maanayata Dutt was born to a Muslim family on July 22, 1979, in Mumbai. Her birth name is Dilnawaz Sheik. Well, did you know, Maanayata had appeared in an item song in Prakash Jha's 'Gangaajal' in 2003? (left: A still from the song). She has come a long way from her initial days of struggle in the film industry. (right: Maanayata's recent picture) (All photos courtesy: Maanayata Dutt's Instagram account)

'I was born in Pali Hill, Bandra. My parents split when I was a kid, so I have been living in bits and pieces with both my parents. I am an optimistic person, I took it positively and decided that when I get married I am going to make it work,' said Maanayata, who married Sanjay Dutt in 2008. Maanayata Dutt grew up in Dubai.

After her debut with an item number in Prakash Jha's 'Gangaajal', Dilnawaz was given the screen name Maanayata by Jha. She went on to act in a B-grade film 'Lovers Like Us', that released in 2005 in small towns.

Maanayata was known as Sara Khan around the same period and some even called her Dilnawaz Khan. The film Lovers Like Us had credited Maanayata as Sara Khan. However, after she started dating Sanjay Dutt, the actor bought the rights of the film and made sure to remove all the DVD and VCDs of the film from the market.

Maanayata always wanted to become an actress. But her Bollywood dream came to an abrupt end when her father passed away. She had to take over her father's business after his demise.

However, after she got married to Sanjay Dutt in 2008, Maanayata took over Sanjay Dutt's life happily. 'I have the right to live with my husband the way I want to. It doesn't matter if she's a prostitute or a princess, a wife has certain rights in her husband's home,' said Maanayata.

When Sanjay Dutt's comment that girls shouldn't stick to their maiden surname after marriage created uproar, she backed her husband and said, 'That's his personal opinion. Sanju would've been offended and insulted if I had continued using my father's name. If other wives want to use their maiden names, it's their choice. He feels it a fashion to do so these days. He has the right to an opinion.'

Talking about her take on the same, Maanayata Dutt said, 'Having married a man who takes care of all my needs, I'd like to accept his name with full honour and take charge of his home and accept his family as mine. If you can't accept your husband's name and family, why marry? Go in for a live-in relationship. Mrs Indira Gandhi was married to someone not as famous as the Nehrus but didn't she fight all those glorious battles as Indira Gandhi, not Nehru. And now Priyanka calls herself a Wadhera (after her husband), not a Gandhi.'

Apparently, Maanayata was introduced to Sanjay Dutt in 2006 by producer Nitin Manmohan. Maanayata faced a lot of criticism after being in a relationship with Sanjay Dutt. She was caught in the crosshairs of people gunning for her head, but Maanayata Sanjay Dutt staves off barbs and accusations with a calculated demeanour.

'People think I'm arrogant and rude. The fact is, I'm very reserved by nature. I only open up with people I gel with. If I'm uncomfortable in company I won't pretend to have a good time,' said Mrs. Dutt.

She gave birth to twins, a son named Shahraan and a daughter named Iqra, on October 21, 2010. After her marriage with the actor, Sanjay Dutt wanted her to contest for the elections and enter politics. However, her only priority in life (2009) was to have a baby.

Being a complete family persona at heart, said Maanayata, 'He wanted me to contest, but I turned it down because today I want to become a mother and start our own family. Our biological clocks are ticking. Right now my priority is to have babies, not attend the Parliament. There's no age barrier to becoming a politician, but there's one to becoming a mother. Today that's our priority both Sanju and I want to have babies and start a family.'

Maanayata handles Sanjay Dutt's finances, diet, fitness and has a say in his film decisions too. 'It's not as if I only look after his home. I also look after Sanjay Dutt Productions. We decided he'd produce his own films to make sure the downslide doesn't take him by surprise,' Maanayata said.

'Let's face it, Sanju is a superstar but he isn't Amitabh Bachchan. Every actor goes through a downslide, and then he reappears in smaller roles. I don't want that to happen to Sanju. We jointly decided to start our production house, so we could generate the kind of work that Sanju deserves,' said Mrs Dutt, who literally has brought stability into Sanjay Dutt's life.

Maanayata often travels to London and Dubai for business trips. 'I look after the finances of the production house, Sanju looks after the creative aspects. He has experience of more than two decades. Besides production plans give me a big high,' said Maanayata, who has now carved her image as an entrepreneur.

Maanayata Dutt has come a long way. Mrs Dutt is the CEO of Sanjay Dutt's production house - Sanjay Dutt Productions.

The lady is an active socialite and an activist, who is a regular face of social campaigns

Needless to say, Maanayata Dutt is an inspiration to many!

On the work front, dedicated producer Maanayata is also passionate about writing. Maanyata's first production 'Baba' was selected in a foreign language competition for Golden Globes. Her Hindi production 'Prasthanam' also received a lot of critical acclaim for its intriguing storyline and was widely appreciated for its enriching story-telling.

In the Sanjay Dutt biopic - Sanju (starring Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Anushka Sharma and Paresh Rawal in pivotal roles) - which released in 2018, Dia Mirza essayed the role of Maanayata Dutt.

We wish Maanayata Dutt a very happy birthday!