Sanjay Dutt, Priya Dutt Remember Their Father Sunil Dutt On His 16th Death Anniversary: 'A Parent, An Idol, A Friend, A Mentor'

Actor Sanjay Dutt on Tuesday paid tributes to his father, celebrated actor-politician Sunil Dutt, on his 16th death anniversary and said he misses him.

Sunil Dutt died of heart attack on May 25, 2005 at his Bandra residence at the age of 75.

In a social media post, Sanjay Dutt, 61, said his father was also his mentor and friend.

"A parent, an idol, a friend, a mentor - you were everything to me. Love you Dad, miss you," he captioned the post on Instagram, alongside a throwback picture of him and Sunil Dutt.

Sanjay Dutt's daughter Trishala commented on the post with a heart emoji.

His younger sister, politician Priya Dutt, also shared a photograph of a young Sunil Dutt on her Instagram.

"That smile lights up my day..... #sunildutt #love #dad," she captioned the post.

Sunil Dutt made his acting debut with director Ramesh Saigal's 1955 film "Railway Platform" opposite Johnny Walker and Nalini Jaywant.

But it was Mehboob Khan's classic "Mother India" in 1956 which catapulted him to stardom.

Two years after the film, Sunil Dutt tied the knot with his co-star Nargis and the couple had three children -- Sanjay Dutt, Namrata Dutt and Priya Dutt.

He was one of the most popular Hindi film stars of the 1960s-1970s and appeared in hits like "Gumraah", "Waqt", "Humraaz", "Khandaan", "Milan" and "Reshma Aur Shera".

Sunil Dutt took a break from the film industry in the early 1990s to enter politics, but returned to play reel-life father to son Sanjay Dutt in 2003 hit "Munna Bhai M.B.B.S".