He was passionate about sports too

<div class="section0"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">In his 1964 film Yaadein, Sunil Dutt plays the only ''visible'' character in the film. The rest are just balloons with whom he converses. As India''s Sports Minister, he was forced to enact virtually the same role for one full year — give speeches to faceless babus in his ministry.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">For years, Dutt kept getting elected to the Parliament but never made it to the Cabinet.When he finally got that call, he was 74. ''Hey, isn''t he too old for that,'' snide remarks were thrown in his direction.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Dutt himself was unsure about accepting the job. ''I''m clueless,'' was his confession to friends. But it did not deter him from putting up the mug of an experienced administrator. His speeches were extremely predictable, though, stemming from allround ignorance. It, however, did not prevent him from chatting on squash in Chennai, swimming and yachting in Mumbai and other sports in Delhi and elsewhere with carefree panache.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">To be fair, the thespian was passionate about sports, especially football. His brother-in-law — Nargis''s brother Anwar Hussain — used to handle a football club that played in the Mumbai league in the 60s. Along with Pran, another football aficionado, Dutt was a frequent visitor to Cooperage. "Football ke liye kuch karna hain," he would often say. "It''s such an exciting sport. I''m sure, with some support, India can become world-beaters. We have the skill for that."</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">If Dutt expected to be exposed to his portfolio slowly, he was mistaken. The Athens Olympics was just round the corner. The TOI exposed the pitiable living conditions of our Olympic aspirants. The politician in him probably saw an opening and he made the right noises. The immediate result was an increase in the daily allowance of the athletes. </span></div> </div>