Apart from the many Bollywood love stories we have seen or heard about on or off-screen, one love story that shook the entire nation was that of Madhuri Dixit and an already married Sanjay Dutt. It was during the shoot of 'Saajan' that the duo came together and soon, the sparks were evident for everyone to see.
Sanjay Dutt's first wife Richa Sharma was battling cancer in New York when Sanjay and Madhuri came closer. Madhuri's gushing interviews talking about what a fabulous person Sanjay Dutt is kept making headlines.
Sanjay Dutt too kept grabbing eyeballs for having his eyes only for Madhuri Dixit throughout the shoot of Khalnayak, Saajan and Saahiban. However, theirs was not just another fling, the duo was quite serious about each other.
Word soon got out and Richa decided to come back to India. It was in that phase that the reports of Sanjay Dutt planning to divorce Richa had also begun surfacing. Richa Sharma's sister Ena Sharma had revealed in an interview with CineBlitz that Dutt treated her shabbily when she came back. He neither gave her the love and care she deserved but also broke her trust. Within 15 days, Richa went back to New York.
In the same interview, Ena Sharma confirmed Sanjay Dutt's affair with Madhuri and even labelled her as 'inhuman'. By that time, media too had started writing about how Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit's affair had taken a toll on his already ailing wife, who wanted to be better just for his sake.
Madhuri and Sanjay were shown in a negative light, which apparently didn't go down well with Madhuri's family. Meanwhile, Dutt had even sent divorce papers to Richa Sharma, which further weakened her spirit. A mud-slinging custody battle over Trishala followed which she won.
Madhuri Dixit belonged to a conservative Maharashtrian family who didn't want their daughter to be involved in any such controversy. However, when Sanjay Dutt landed himself in legal soup, Madhuri parted ways with him silently.