Maanyata throws Sanjay Dutt a birthday party

Sanjay Dutt, who turned 53 on Sunday, was in for a surprise treat as wife Maanyata Dutt hosted a small family dinner attended by Sanjay's sisters Priya, Namrata and his nieces.

Sanjay Dutt's sister Namrata had her two daughters, Saachi and Siya, in tow. Namrata is married to former actor Kumar Gaurav.

Priya Dutt, who is a Congress MP, came with her husband Owen Roncon.

Sanjay Dutt, who is gearing up for the release of his next comedy Son of Sardar co-starring good friend Ajay Devgn, was looking nice in a white pathani suit.

Maanyata wore grey silk. The other ladies stuck to a monochrome palette.

Coming Up: Munnabhai is 53.

Actor Sanjay Dutt, who was last spotted on July 9 at the launch of a Bollywood trade magazine with megastar Amitabh Bachchan, turns 53 today.

Sanjay Dutt's last release was Ram Gopal Verma's Department in which he played Inspector Mahadev Bhosle, the leader of an encounter squad.

In the film, Sanjay also featured in a remake of hit song Thodi Si Jo Pi Li Hai, from Big B's film Namak Halaal.

On March 30, Sanjay Dutt was spotted with wife Maanyata at the inauguration of a film festival showcasing Vidhu Vinod Chopra's movies in Mumbai.

On March 12, the actor launched the Super Fight League (SFL) series in Mumbai with Shilpa Shetty and her entrepreneur husband Raj Kundra. Sanjay's wife Maanyata was also there to support him.

In February this year, Sanjay Dutt visited Big B at Seven Hills Hospital after Mr Bachchan went through abdominal surgeries.

In January, a party hosted by Sanjay Dutt to celebrate the success of his film, Agneepath made headlines of the wrong kind when Shah Rukh Khan and Shirish Kunder allegedly got into a brawl.

Agneepath's 'Kancha', Sanjay Dutt also attended the success party of his film hosted by co-star Hrithik Roshan in January itself.

Coming Sanjay Dutt's life-in-pics

Sanjay Dutt is the eldest of actors Sunil and Nargis Dutt's three children.

Sister Priya Dutt is a Lok Sabha MP and the youngest in the family, Namrata, is married to actor Kumar Gaurav.

Sanjay made his first appearance on the big screen when he was just 12. He played a small role as a young qawali singer in the 1971 film Reshma Aur Shera starring his father Sunil Dutt, Waheeda Rehman and Rakhee.

Sunil Dutt then launched his 22 year old son in Rocky, which was very well received by the audience. Sadly, the release of the film was preceded by Nargis Dutt's death. The actress had been suffering from pancreatic cancer.

His mother's death had a devastating effect on the young actor. Sanjay's drug addiction negatively impacted his career in Bollywood. It is widely believed that he lost the role in Subhash Ghai's Hero to Jackie Shroff because of his addiction.

With his father's help, Sanjay was admitted to a rehab centre in the US.

After returning from rehab, Sanjay restarted his career and signed a number of films. Though most of them didn't do well at the box office, fans had started to sympathise with the actor.

Amidst all this director Mahesh Bhatt decided to cast him as the hero in Naam. The film, which is still remembered for its melodious songs, was Sanjay's first step towards shedding his 'non-actor' tag.

Sanjay swapped his action hero roles for that of poet in Saajan, opposite Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan. The role earned him his first Filmfare Award nomination in the Best Actor category.

Sanjay then decided to break away from the 'action hero' tag and played a poet in Lawrence D'Souza's Saajan. This role also earned him his first Filmfare Awards nomination in the Best Actor category.

The year 1993 was a very eventful year in Sanjay Dutt's life. Ironically, almost coinciding with the release of Subhash Ghai's Khalnayak, Sanjay was arrested in connection with the 1993 Mumbai (then Bombay) bomb blasts. The charge against Sanjay was illegal possession of arms.

Sanjay Dutt spent 18 months in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail before being released on bail. Meanwhile, Khalnayak went on to become a super hit and established Sanjay amongst the top-rung Bollywood actors. It also earned him his second Filmfare nomination.

Interestingly Sanjay Dutt's Bollywood career reached its peak when he was already in his 40s. Sanjay played a gangster in Mahesh Manjrekar's Vaastav and won his his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

The film that redefined the Deadly Dutt's career was Rajkumar Hirani's 2003 blockbuster comedy Munnabhai MBBS, followed by the 2006 sequel Lage Raho Munnabhai. Munna and Circuit are the most remembered on-screen friends since Jai and Veeru from Sholay.

Sanjay Dutt's comic timing has also been widely appreciated and the actor was seen in more comedies like Dhamaal and All The Best.

In October 2011, Sanjay Dutt was also seen on small screen hosting Bigg Boss 5 with Salman Khan.

The actor has been romantically involved with many ladies from within the film industry and even outside it.

Tina Munim is believed to be Sanju's first girlfriend. Their love blossomed on the sets of Sanjay's debut film Rocky but the affair didn't last long.

After a quick courtship Sanjay married starlet Richa Sharma in 1987. In 1988 Richa was diagnosed with cancer and she went to the US to be treated. Richa died in 1996. The couple have a daughter, Trishala.

After a quick courtship Sanjay married starlet Richa Sharma in 1987. In 1988 Richa was diagnosed with cancer and she went to the US to be treated. Richa died in 1996. The couple have a daughter, Trishala.

Sanjay Dutt married third wife Maanyata, his girlfriend for two years, in February 2008.

The Sanjay-Maanyata marriage first ran into trouble with the Goa government on the alleged use of fake certificates to facilitate the marriage. There was more trouble for the couple when Maanyata's (whose real name is Dilnawaz Sheikh) alleged ex-husband claimed that they weren't divorced yet.

The couple now have twins - a boy named Shahraan and a girl named Iqra. This picture of Iqra was posted by Ameesha Patel on Twitter. Reportedly, it didn't go down too well with the Dutts.

A great actor, a loving husband and a doting father - here's wishing Mr Dutt a very Happy Birthday.