Review of Sanju (2018) by Rajesh G — 29 Jun 2018

Sanju.... .

Ranbir kapoor playing Sanjay dutt, in a movie directed by Rajkumar hirani (munnabhai triology) ... Almost incestuous and I expected a glorifying portrayal of Sanjay .

Sanju.. A film industry product of the 80's.. Drug addict, serial womaniser, flop actor, terrorist.. Yes all that's portrayed.. But also a human being, a weak human being, a fragile son.. Those are the thoughts you take home. .

Ranbir kapoor is at his best... Better than Barfi and rockstar,his is an emotional performance. The changing physical appearance, from the 18 year old weak druggie to the reformed muscle builder to the middle aged guy is only part of the story. The mannerisms of Sanjay dutt are superbly imitated... But more than that the angst of a drug addict, a terrible youth, are so well portrayed that you get drawn in emotionally (I cried at least thrice!)Simply superb performance. The script dilutes his druggie phase into a near comic role, which I felt was unnecessary and the most negative message of the movie. Other than that the movie has done justice of showing the negativity of Sanjay. .

Paresh rawal as sunil dutt has underplayed his role, making sure he doesn't overpower the son. The Story portrays him as a true hero... An unloved father who cares deeply for his son.. A disciplinarian, his one fault, Sanjay is always trying to win him over. The father son relationship is the crux of the story, initially formal (typical of the 80s era). Sunil dutt is the strong man of the family, belong his weak son first out of the drug addiction, then helping him legally and then rebranding Sanjay's movie career in munnabhai mbbs. Sanjay's and sunil's mutual love is portrayed in ways that children of that era can understand well! This movie is as much a biopic of sunil dutt's fatherhood as of sanju's life.

Vikas kaushal as kamli, the fictional gujju friend, is a antithesis to Sanju. Probably a good mirror to explain the society of those days. Very nice acting. But the  role is too 'chamcha', at the end! .

Manisha koirala, as nargis, is passable. Great physical resemblance, but beyond that the acting and the role should have been stronger. The younger actresses, sonam ahuja and anushka kapoor.. Both are too plastic and take away from the movie. Dia mirza as manyata is a figurehead, also. Why couldn't these characters be developed more.. Probably because of the length.. But then, were the songs a must? Not one hummable song .

A biopic of a guy still living, and most of the events having occurred in full public glare, is not easy to script and make. The druggie and adolescent scenes are shown to be frivolous. The parent - son relationship is portrayed maturely (for me that's the real takeaway from the movie) The terrorist phase is surprisingly handled with full responsibility! Missing are the two previous marriages, the very famous girlfriends, the sibling issues. Its a movie that's got the blessing of Sanjay dutt, so there's a bit of airbrushing the negatives. The gun running and terrorism accusation are portrayed legally corectly (I researched).the guy has suffered enough jail time and his one of the few celebrities who's been convicted for his crime of gun running (more than most culprits who are from mollycoddled families), so let's give him a break, I feel.

There's a strong message about the role of the press, which I feel wasn't entirely warranted.. But that's my view! .

Some of  my friends aren't  wanting to see the movie because it is portraying a 'terrorist'.... the movie  is not about a terrorist or about his innocence...it's about the human being. anyways, I am seeing a TV serial about Hitler & his henchman. About Churchill, who is the worst of most human beings... I have seen movies about Gandhiji & about Bose, about mickey mouse & also a druggie. there was the movie Bombay about riots & Dil Se about suicide bombers,   also Satya & Godfather about the mafia.

I think by deciding not to see movies on basis of some political belief or not reading these books seems to indicate  that you don't have inner strength  to fight these issues. I also believe that seeing such movies about characters that you don't like (Like Churchill, a historical figure I abhor) you would actually learn more about the 'other side'  & therefore strengthen your beliefs.....This is my feeling & hope that people understand this to help create a better world.

Definitely, a must see, 4/5 for me.

Rajesh Gupta.