Marathi Row: Minister Says Sanjay Dutt Video Was Cropped, Out of Context

Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik has defended his interaction with Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt at a Dahi Handi event in Thane, claiming that a viral video of the exchange was cropped and presented out of context.

Speaking about the weekend celebration organised by the Sanskriti Yuva Pratishthan, Sarnaik said he urged Dutt to address the crowd in Marathi. The minister, a leader of Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, asserted that the actor did speak in Marathi, but that the clip circulating online did not tell the full story.

"Prominent figures like Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, and Suryakumar Yadav were present at my Dahi Handi celebration. It is your right to choose which language to speak, but if you are in Maharashtra, you should speak Marathi," Sarnaik said.

He noted that both Shetty and Yadav spoke in Marathi at the event. When Dutt took the microphone, he quipped that despite spending time in Pune's Yerwada Jail, he had not learned the language beyond a little. The 67-year-old actor then embraced Sarnaik, referencing their 25-year friendship, and concluded with a brief Marathi greeting.

"Following this, Sanjay Dutt said, 'Namaskar mandali, majha sarvanna namaskar'. However, the video was cropped and presented out of context," the minister added.

Sarnaik's transport department requires Mumbai's auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers to have functional knowledge of Marathi to obtain permits, a rule that has drawn attention to the contrast with leniency shown to celebrities.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut criticised the minister, suggesting he should have firmly told Dutt to speak Marathi. Dutt was released from Yerwada Jail in February 2016 after serving 42 months of a five-year sentence in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case.