Sanjay Dutt seems to be moving full speed ahead. His career is going great guns.

His latest release, David Dhawan's Ek Aur Ek Gyarah, with Govinda, has met with good response. 

On the sets of Mani Shankar's (16 December) supernatural thriller, Rudraksha, Sanjay smiles at the mention of his comic triumph. "You have got to take life's blows on your chin. You have to keep working to survive. I have done two comedies, Haseena Maan Jayegi and Jodi No 1, with Govinda. I am told I have held my own. But, in my opinion, there is no one to touch Govinda in the comic genre. He is superb. It isn't as if I had to work too hard to be funny. With Govinda around, it comes naturally. All of us were like one big family on the sets. Shooting for Ek Aur Ek Gyarah was like a picnic."

Dutt's forthcoming assignments include good friend and business partner Sanjay Gupta's Plan, in which Dutt plays a gangster kidnapped by four desperate youngsters. It is a lighthearted look at gangsters, says the actor.

Their production house, White Feather Films, intends to produce at least two films per year, one of which will star Dutt. Gupta and Dutt's first production, Kaante, fared well. "Sanjay Gupta and I made no money. But it got our company lots of respect. To that extent, it was a good beginning for us," he says.

 Then there is new director Raju Hirani's Munnabhai MBBS, where he plays a small-time hoodlum who pretends to be a doctor. Dutt seems to enjoy doing funny roles -- there is another film with comic kingpin Dhawan on the anvil.

Getting thoughtful about his conflict with the law (he was arrested for possession of arms and is accused in the Mumbai blasts case) Dutt says, "The legal agony is far from over. My life comes to a standstill the minute I think about it. It has been going on for 11 years. Now, it seems the court procedures might go on for another two years. I just want it to end. I have to attend court every 15 days. I am not allowed to go out of Mumbai without the court's consent. Even to go to Pune, I have to get legal consent."

The actor's face drops when he reveals he has not been able to meet his 13-year-old daughter in the US for more than a year because he is not allowed to. "But by God's grace, my career is doing well and people love me. During my travels, I am so surprised by the goodwill and love I encounter. In spite of my serious court case, they love me so much. I get very emotional. I guess my parents have taught me to be good to others."