IT IS A NEWS FOR ALL SAY SANJAY'S FAMILY MEMBERS

With Sanjay Dutt, you never know what to expect. His sisters Priya and Namrata Dutt remained as much in the dark yesterday about the actor’s alleged marriage to live-in girlfriend Manyata at the Taj Exotica in Goa, as is the rest of Bollywood.

If the couple tied the knot there on February 7, as is speculated under the Hindu Marriage Act, then the family was unaware. Naturally, the sisters could not comment on the saat pheras that subsequently took place yesterday morning at the Imperial Heights Building on Pali Hill where all of them reside on separate floors.

Said younger sister Namrata with a touch of exasperation, “Our phones haven’t stopped ringing since this rumour broke out. Honestly, Priya and I don’t know what to say to relatives, because Sanjay has not said anything to us since he returned from Goa last Friday. We are happy for him, of course, but how can we celebrate his marriage when we don’t know anything about it!”

Sources at the Taj Exotica said Sanjay and Manyata were staying at the North Goa property since January 28, and if they got married, then it was certainly not at the hotel. “Sanjay was just chilling out. He stayed in the presidential suite and we saw a lot of him, but he was always alone, never with Manyata or any of the large battery of people who accompanied them there. He roamed the public areas, interacted with whoever approached him, and ate Goan food in the restaurants. He had three cars here, a Hummer, a Lexus and a Merc, and he went out often. Maybe he got married outside,” said a hotel employee.

According to Namrata, even when Sanjay got married to Rhea Pillai, he did not inform the family. “I guess it’s his way of doing things, but honestly, we fail to understand his ways,” she added wearily. The Dutt sisters, however, have no option but to assume their brother has secretly tied the knot for the third time. “He has been living with Manyata for the past year, so we assume he is married, otherwise why would he live with her so openly,” said Namrata. “If Sanjay has found happiness in her, good for him, he is our brother and we want him to be happy and not lonely.”

If they are hurt at being kept out of Sanjay Dutt’s plans, Namrata and Priya are mature enough not to show it, and as for the new Mrs Dutt... they hardly know her. “She never made any effort to mix with the family,” said Namrata.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Dutt’s 19-year-old daughter Trishala was in shock yesterday as news of her father’s marriage broke out. “I can’t, can’t, can’t comment on this,” said the distraught teen in New York when BT spoke to her even as the saat pheras were on. Trishala’s aunt Eena said that Sanjay had not informed Trishala about the marriage. “She is shocked and speechless at the turn of events. It’s not fair for her to learn of this from the TV,” said the aunt.