Veteran Indian actor-turned-politician, Sunil Dutt died on May 25, after a brief illness in Mumbai. Dutt, 75, was the minister of sport and youth affairs in the Congress-led Indian government and represented Mumbai in Parliament. Dutt, who had been in the public eye for the last five decades, including 40 years as a star actor, is survived by his actor son Sanjay Dutt and two daughters.

Sunil Dutt took filmdom by storm in the 60s and 70s and later went on to chart a fabulous career as politician in the Congress Party from Mumbai.

He came to prominence in politics due to his impeccable reputation for honesty and integrity as well as for his social work for the people.

As a major Bollywood star Sunil Dutt was best known for his role in the film Mother India. His name was taken in the same breath as those of Dilip Kumar, Ashok Kumar and other legendary actors of his time.

He later went on to marry the female lead from the same film, legendary actress Nargis. Dutt, along with his wife Nargis, made a name for themselves in the social and cultural circles by contributing their mite for many causes.

Born on June 6, 1929, in village Khurd, (now in Pakistan) in district Jhelum, Sunil Dutt ventured into movies only after completing his graduation. His first movie was Railway Platform directed by Ramesh Sehgal, with Johnny Walker and Nalini Jaywant as co-stars. His first hit film was B R Chopra's, Ek hi Raasta, 1956.

Although he began his acting career in the 50s, it was his role in Mother India (1956) that catapulted him to fame. He acted alongside the top actresses of the time such as Waheeda Rehman, Sadhna, Meena Kumari and Nutan.

His directorial debut in Reshma Aur Shera was a damp squib, but his acting skill powered his career through the '70s through unforgettable movies like Zaakhmee (1975), Paapi,(1976) and Jaani Dushman (1978), which gave good competition to budding stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, and Dhar-mendra. Apart from these he acted in scores of films, including Sujata, Gumraah, Waqt, Humraaz, Khandaan, Main Chup Rahungi, Yeh Raastein Hain Pyar Ke and Milan.

In 1981 he introduced his son to the filmworld through Rocky, but in the same year his wife died of cancer. It made Sunil stage an exit from the film industry and devote himself to social work and later to politics.

His last film was the 2004 release Munnabhai MBBS in which he starred alongside with his son.

With him passes an era in both films and politics in India.