Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt on Wednesday announced that he had recovered from cancer, barely a week after he confirmed that he was suffering from the disease.
In a statement on the occasion of the birthday of his twins, daughter Iqra and son Sharaan, the 61-year-old actor — who took a short break from acting in August "to focus on his health" — said that he's “happy to come out victorious from this battle.”
“The last few weeks were a very difficult time for my family and me. But like they say, God gives the hardest battles to his strongest soldiers. And today, on the occasion of my kids’ birthday, I am happy to come out victorious from this battle and be able to give them the best gift I can -- the health and well-being of our family," he said.
Dutt, who acted in more than 150 films in his career, also thanked his fans, friends and family for their “unwavering faith and support", and said that he's "grateful to Dr Sewanti and her team of doctors, nurses and the medical staff at Kokilaben Hospital who have taken such good care of me in the last few weeks".
Dutt, who recently wrapped up the shoot of his next film 'Shamshera', has a slew of projects lined up for release, including KGF: Chapter 2, Bhuj: The Pride of India, Prithviraj and Torbaaz.
The son of late actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis, Dutt made his acting debut in Rocky (1981), which was directed by his father. The crime thriller Naam (1985) proved to be a turning point in his career, which was followed by a series of commercially successful films in that decade, including Mardon Wali Baat (1988), Ilaaka (1989) and Hum Bhi Insaan Hain (1989).
Dutt has had a chequered career. He was arrested and convicted for violation of the Arms Act for possession of illegal weapons procured from other accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts that claimed the lives of over 250 people. After serving his sentence, he was released in 2016 and subsequently he returned to acting.