Producer:
Rajkumar Hirani, Vinod Chopra, Fox Star Studios
Director: Rajkumar
Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Dia
Mirza, Manisha Koirala, Anushka Sharma, Jim Sarbh, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Aditi Seiya
Story: Abhijat
Joshi
Music
Director: Rohan Rohan, Vikram Montrose
Lyrics: Puneet
Sharma, Shekhar Astitwa
Genre: Biopic
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J76wN0TPI4
Rating 4****/5
(The aim and intention of my reviews is
to critique and recommend while not revealing the whole story to enjoy the
movie when seen. But minor details have been divulged for a proper review!)
Sanju, One
man….Many lives; “Bad choices make interesting stories”; There is many such lines
which can explain out this movie but it takes a genius like Raj Kumar Hirani with
his creative artistry to make a movie of this complex a character like Sanjay
Dutt, with a roller coaster of a life, and make it interesting and heartwarming
to the audiences.
No man’s
life can fit into a two hour movie and especially not Sanjay Dutt’s many shades
of life…..hence Sanju covers only
chapters of Dutt’s life- like his tryst
with drugs and alcoholism, his arrest and tribulations in the Arms Act, his
relationship with his father, his mistakes, falls, his emotional turmoil fighting his personal demons and recovery on the strength of his father’s motivation and
shoulders of friendship.
Many a celebrity in both Hollywood and Bollywood
has lived and even died because of insecurities, anxieties, mistakes and flaws they
have made in their lives. Sanju shows
the story of and how this celebrity son feels, his inability to measure up to
his idealistic father and parent’s expectations, and his failure to handle
emotional distress and pressure, led him to make poor decisions and fall for distractions
like drugs and alcohol. It also shows
how a compassionate father and a good friend were pivotal and helped him
recover and rise back from that mistake of his life. But Sanju has made many bad decisions, errors in judgement including getting
involved with shady people and gotten into situations without understanding the
gravity of his actions. This of course led him to go through many trials and
tribulations, arrests and years of jail time, besides defamation and
condemnation for him and his family. The story reveals some truths and gives deep
insight into his complicated life with a laugh here and a tear there.
The excellence
of this movie is the extraordinary direction and craftsmanship of Raj Kumar
Hirani with his ability to weave in emotional and sensitive drama of Dutt’s
life with heartwarming narrative and humor.
The other merit of this movie is Ranbir Kapoor’s
excellent acting. When we see the character as Sanjay Dutt and not as the actor
who is portraying Sanjay Dutt, it shows the actor has carried out the role with
finesse and brilliance. The acting, makeup and Sanjus’s characteristic details of
drugged, blank, broken look, his confused and distressed persona, to the lanky swagger,
awkward postures, body language and gait were all on point. The other performance
which stood out was Vicky Kaushal’s endearing acting as Sanju’s friend who
stands by him at all times. Paresh Rawal
as Sunil Dutt and Manisha Koirala as Nargis, Dia Mirza as his wife Manyata, Jim
Sarabh as the bad influence, all had excellent performances too. Anoushka Sharma’s
acting and the fictionalized role written into this biopic were subpar and weak
and could have been skipped.
The movie
is absolutely worth watching with 4 stars for its brilliant execution of a
biopic in a not sequential style with a balance of laughter and tears for a
heartwrenching story of Sanjay Dutt. Whatever bad decisions the protagonist may
have taken in the journey of life, they don’t equate to what life has dished out
for him and the formidable forces which have tried to crush him. My personal
hugs to Sanju and best wishes for
life ahead.
