Sanju perfectly fits the Rajkumar 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 of my 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 me.
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 and Kamlesh.
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 here is the dutiful wife by her husband’s side. The Nargis Dutt chapter is limited to motivating her troubled son. Ruby 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.
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