Daughter, wife, mother, politician… Among the many roles that Priya Dutt, 42, has played, she says the most difficult has been that of sister to Sanjay.

Seated in her office at Bandra, Mumbai, surrounded by family photos taken in happier times, Priya struggles to describe where her relationship with her brother stands today. "I'll tell you about my feelings towards him." After a long pause, she says, "I always feel too protective about him. Though he is elder to me... I don't know why... I have always found him very vulnerable. I know I should back off now. He is a grown man." She is angered that their differences have made headlines. "We simply have a little argument and the media says that the family is breaking."

The "little argument" was over Sanjay's decision to contest for the 2009 Assembly elections on a Samaj-wadi Party (SP) ticket from Lucknow. His political debut was announced by Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh at a press conference on January 8. On January 14, Priya Dutt held a press conference denying this was the fallout of a family feud. Two days later, on January 16, Sanjay confirmed he was contesting from the SP. "I can take my own decisions and my family will support me," he said to The Hindu.

This is just one more of the surprises the actor, 49, has sprung upon his sisters. Last year, in February 2008, they learnt about his marriage to Maanyata through media reports too. But while the recent incident has unsettled Priya, she insists that there is no antagonism between the siblings.

"Of course, we are talking," she says, sharply. "He has called me up after [joining SP]. Things are not so bad. We tend to ignore what has happened [in the press] and move on." Raksha Bandhan will be celebrated together, as it is every year. "After all, he is my brother," she says, adding, "He is free to join any political party... he has that right."

Text: Aditi Raja | PEOPLE

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