Sanjay Dutt finally walks free; salutes jail flag

Actor Sanjay Dutt today finally reached his home town Mumbai after being released from Pune's Yerwada jail in the morning. The actor has served a term of 42 months in Yerwada as part of his five-year sentence after being convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case.

Looking in good health, he carried in his hands a khaki' bag containing his belongings and a green coloured file that apparently contained his prison record. A sense of drama crept in as he turned back and saluted the tri-colour atop the prison building and bent to touch the soil in full media glare.

The actor went straight to the Siddhivinayak temple soon after he landed in Mumbai. He was accompanied by his wife Maanyata and friends including producer Bunty Walia and the others.

On Sanjay Dutt's last day in jail on Wednesday, there was one dramatic moment when his real and reel lives seemed to merge. As he began his daily show on the prison radio one last time, he played the song Chithhi aayi hai from the 1986 film Naam, in which he plays a youth desperately missing home.

Dutt (convict number 16656) has served 42 months of his five-year prison term at Pune's Yerawada Central Prison that commenced on 16 May 2013 (See: Sanjay Dutt goes to jail; will have to quit smoking). The 56-year-old got a remission of 256 days from his sentence for good behaviour. 

While Dutt started his day by mending his torn prison uniform, his family and an army of servants worked to decorate his residence at Pali Hill and make preparations for his homecoming. "During his bath, he realised his jail uniform had torn from the shoulder. He requested for a needle and thread, and mended his clothes," said a source, adding, "Later at 11 am, he went to the prison radio station and began his show Aap ki Farmaish."

As it was his last day in prison, many inmates had sent in requests for songs and dialogues from his movies, but apart from Chithhi aai hai, none of the songs were from Dutt's films.