A smile lighted his face as the 56-year-old actor, clad in a blue shirt and jeans, stepped out and walked briskly toward a waiting car outside the prison, waving to onlookers.
Looking in good health, he enthusiastically carried in his hands a 'khaki' bag containing his belongings and a green coloured file that apparently contained his prison record.
A sense of dramatics crept in as he turned back and saluted the tri-colour atop the prison building and bent to touch the soil in full media glare.
Speaking to reporters outside the Pune airport, the actor quipped that "There is no easy walk to freedom my friends".
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Dutt was set free after completing prison formalities at around 8.45 AM and came out escorted by police which had tightened security in the area.
He completed 42-months remaining of his five year sentence in Yerawada prison here as he had already spent 18 months in Mumbai's Arthur road jail as an under-trial.
Before Dutt's release this morning, a handful of protestors too had raised slogans in front of the prison protesting alleged the preferential treatment meted out to him by the authorities.
Prison authorities and his lawyers, however, refuted the allegations saying that his remission of 144 days and his parole leave was in accordance with jail manual and prescribed rules.
Lanes leading to his house were lined with hoardings like
Also, a photo of his late actor-politician father Sunil Dutt was put up at the gate of his building 'Imperial Heights' along with a message that read - "Dutt Sahab Amar Rahe". Fans too were seen eagerly awaiting Dutt's return.
Soon after Dutt's release, several Bollywood celebs and co-stars including Juhi Chawla, Gracy Singh, Mahesh Bhatt and Subhash Ghai wished him peace and welcomed his return to the industry with a hope that he will reach great career heights in his second innings in B-town.
Besides, "Oh My God" director Umesh Shukla is working on a socially relevant film in which he wants to cast the "Vaastav" star. Director Indra Kumar too has plans to work with Dutt in the third part of "Dhamaal".
Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra had earlier revealed that he had several scripts for Dutt and would work with him soon.
In Dutt's absence, his wife Manyata had apparently signed Prabhu Deva to direct a film for his production house. Also the release date of the film "Hasmukh Pigal Gaya", that Dutt is producing will be finalised soon as he is out of prison now.
The Bollywood star was arrested on April 19, 1993, for possession and destruction of an AK-56 rifle, which was a part of cache of arms and explosives which landed in India prior to the serial blasts of March 1993.
During the investigation and the marathon trial, he spent 18 months in jail. On July 31, 2007, the TADA court in Mumbai sentenced him to six years' rigorous imprisonment under the Arms Act. In 2013, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling but reduced the sentence to five years following which he surrendered to serve the remainder of his sentence.
Also, Dutt played his part in entertaining the inmates doing the role of "Radio Jockey" for the inner circuit YCP radio, compering songs with the script.
His release today is 103 days ahead of the end of his full prison term.