Sanju is the 'true' story that Sanjay Dutt wanted to tell the world
Some Bollywood films are more eagerly awaited than the rest, and there is a reason for that — Rajkumar Hirani.
A phenomenal 95 per cent occupancy at the first day, first show that I attended in Mumbai and the whistles and cheers that followed after the CBFC certificate to Sanju flashed on screen, proved that fact about Hirani beyond doubt.
Sanju fits the Hirani template: there are laughs, plenty of tear-jerking scenes and limited songs and romance. Those who anticipated that the film will "absolve" Sanjay Dutt of his mistakes passed off as “bad choices” won’t be disappointed. Here are a few thoughts on the film.
Blame it on bad journalism
If you are hoping to see a "realistic" portrayal of Sanjay Dutt, then Hirani and his co-writer Abhijat Joshi have other plans for you. The film devotes some time to lament the role media played in vilifying its hero. So much so that there is even a rap on it towards the end, shot against the backdrop of black-and-white broadsheets. Yes, the newspaper, and not Dutt’s wrongdoings, is single-handedly to be blamed for why he is misunderstood and branded a terrorist.
Use of sensational headlines, fake news, rumours and gossips and the use of question marks and “according to sources” and “alleged” has been criticised severely. Who’d have thought that after asking people to be more considerate towards patients (Munna Bhai MBBS) and students (3 Idiots) and beware of bogus babas (PK), Hirani’s message from Sanju would be to not take everything that newspapers write at face value. That’s a bit of stale news if you ask us.
The diatribe comes as a surprise and only goes on to prove that the fourth estate is always an easy target.
Papa and pal to the rescue
The two Fs — father and friendship — are integral to Hirani’s film, with the latter being the lifeline of the story. If Sanju, the bad boy of Bollywood, is likeable in the film it’s because he is surrounded by two good souls in Sunil Dutt (Paresh Rawal) and Kamlesh (Vicky Kaushal). And because he is played adeptly on screen by Ranbir Kapoor.
Hirani and Joshi’s feel-good quotient is most evident in the storyline between Sanjay and his New York-based Gujarati friend who stands by his side when the actor is in dire straits. The film’s best and most joyous bits belong to the duo with Sanju often having a laugh at his friend’s behest and Kamlesh encouraging him during the lows. Kamlesh also knows Sanju the best when he describes him as a man with no “philosophy” and “maksad (purpose)”.
The father-son story is trickier and Hirani and Joshi use it to highlight the burden of legacy. Sanju, audiences are told, is in a constant quest to earn his praise. But given his tendency to court trouble, he struggles to match his father’s repute or live up to his expectations. Their bond grows gradually, with Sunil Dutt playing a more active role in his puttar’s life after Sanjay is made an accused in the Bombay blasts case. The big poignant moments, one that audiences love Hirani’s films for, involve the two.
By the end of it if there is one man you feel sympathy for in this entire saga, it is Sunil Dutt.
Gentlemen first, ladies second
The 308 women that the actor boasts of having slept with barely factor in Sanju lest they taint the hero’s image. Only Hirani and Joshi can turn even Sanjay’s philandering and insensitive behaviour into material for laughs.
Manyata (Dia Mirza) here is the dutiful wife by her husband’s side. The Nargis Dutt (the charming Manisha Koirala) chapter is limited to motivating her troubled son. Ruby (Sonam Kapoor) is symbolic of the many women Sanju wronged, and sticking to script she too forgives Dutt. The less said about Anushka Sharma’s "acclaimed" and prolific biographer Winnie Dias the better. She backtracks from writing Dutt’s story whenever somebody casts an aspersion on him which given his life is least bit surprising. She is the audience, the writer and listener, albeit one who doesn’t question or cross-check information. She is the least convincing character in Sanju.
More reel, less of a biopic
That Rajkumar Hirani selects bits from Dutt’s life is hardly surprising. But this is Dutt’s story being told by Dutt himself. It’s his autobiography — "My Experiments with Drugs and List of Crazy Adventures". It’s Hirani and Joshi taking the funniest experiences and most troubling chapters from his life and putting them together.
The narrative device works for most part, but it leaves you wanting at least one outside perspective. As a result, we get a portrait of a man who has an excuse for all his actions, however problematic they may be, with the others offering him good advice that goes mostly unheard. In Hirani’s defence, he doesn’t create a halo around his leading man’s head. But then again, the film also doesn’t delve deeper into how he became the black sheep of the illustrious family.
Instead we are left with his many lows and a few occasional highs.
Passion for cinema
Sanju may not be Hirani’s finest film, but it does have a few strokes of his genius. There are two memorable sequences both centred on two of Dutt’s most beloved films in Vaastav and Munna Bhai MBBS. In the first, he revisits one of Dutt’s most classic scenes in the most refreshing manner, and in the other he delights the audience with a joke on Dutt himself.