By Sanjeev Srivastava BBC correspondent, Delhi

Sunil Dutt 1929-2005

In India it's difficult for a man associated with both films and politics to have a squeaky clean image.

More so if you have had a career spanning over five decades.

But Sunil Dutt was an exception.

In the glamour world of movies where a notorious reputation and haughty behaviour is often the ticket to superstardom, Dutt was always seen as an honourable man.

And in the world of Indian politics where success is often measured by how unscrupulous one is in his public dealings, he epitomised the values of honesty and courage in public life.

Real life hero

Dutt was among the first Bollywood stars to carve a successful career in politics.

HAVE YOUR SAY Sunil Dutt was one of the most talented actors to come out of Bollywood Ranjit Menon, Bangalore, India Send us your tributes

But unlike the many who followed him, he did not choose to enter politics on the strength of his box office appeal.

He earned his stripes the hard way and one of his first public activities was a nearly month-long peace march he undertook in Punjab in the early 1980s.

Not many real life heroes dared to go to Punjab in those days, where a movement for the creation of a separate Sikh state was at its violent peak.

He was first elected to parliament from north-west Mumbai in 1984.

Subsequently he was re-elected four times.

After the Congress Party victory in the last elections, he was made cabinet minister for youth affairs and sports.

Romance - on and off screen

Even before Dutt made his appearance on the silver screen in the 1950s, his voice was already a familiar baritone on the airwaves.

After working with All India Radio for sometime, Dutt became a popular voice on air when he started presenting a popular Hindi programme of film music (Binaca Geet Mala) on Radio Ceylon.

Dutt's marriage to Nargis was straight out of a Bollywood plot

He was known as Balraj Dutt at the time - Sunil Dutt was to become his screen name later.

His entry into the film industry made headlines, not just because of his good looks and quality of performance but also because of his marriage to Nargis - one of Bollywood's most respected, versatile and popular actresses.

Even the circumstances of his marriage to a woman who was the industry's leading female star at the time was quite dramatic and straight out of a Bollywood plot.

While filming Mother India - a Bollywood classic and the movie that catapulted Dutt to stardom - he saved Nargis' life when the set caught fire.

Romance and marriage followed in quick succession.

Theirs was a fairytale marriage and the Dutts were often referred to as the ideal Bollywood couple.

The death of his wife from cancer in 1981 shattered Sunil Dutt.

He spent the last couple of decades of his life as a tireless campaigner, raising money for the help of poor cancer patients through charities and fundraisers all across the world.

'A good man'

It was in connection with one such charity function that I had a chance to spend a lot of time with Dutt.

It was in New York in 1997. We found ourselves staying on the same floor of an Indian hotel on Lexington Avenue.

He was there in connection with a Nargis memorial fundraiser.

His sincerity was clear as he talked about how much he loved and missed his wife and how much he wanted to do for poor cancer patients.

He also talked about how a simple, straightforward man such as he sometimes felt like a misfit in politics where treachery and deceit were the norm.

It was also sad to share with him the trauma he went through when his son and Bollywood star, Sunjay, was jailed for possessing illegal weapons after the Mumbai riots in 1992.

I can't say Dutt was a close friend - I knew him over 15 years but may have met him no more than a dozen times.

But he was a good man. Somebody you respected.