First things first . I m a
Rajkumar Hirani Fan . And yet Sanju will be his first film that I will not yearn
to watch for the second time. Does it make Sanju a bad film? No, not at all. In
fact any other director , with that propaganda , might just have messed it up
the way Tony D’Souza butchered Azhar . And yet at so many levels its not a Raj
Kumar Hirani film. It’s just an uni-dimensional tribute from a fan boy friend
to the fallen entitled hero. It is an apologetic film about the relationship
between a larger than life father and his drug addict prodigal son, a son who
presents an excuse for each one of his criminal acts, his side of the story. It is a film which could have delved deep to
explore the psyche of both of them, explored the nuances of the relationships,
paused at moments to understand the rise and fall of a life as eventful as Dutt’s
, yet all it does is add melodrama , provide excuses , ton and tons of it , all
superficial to sell tickets at astronomical prices , to resurrect its hero , an
otherwise Big hearted man who had succumbed
to drugs and guns . Hirani ,the man who resurrected Dutt’s career , marred with
criminal activities and most famous for his film “Khalnayak” , made him a messiah with his Munna Bhai Series , does it once again, at the cost of
objectivity . Probably it is too much to
expect Indian biographical movies to be objective, to tell both sides of the story,
to expect them to scratch beneath the surface.
Sanju , neither talks about Dutt’s
personal life , nor shows the highs and lows of his career and not even talks
about acting skills or challenges . All it talks about is why Dutt is not a terrorist.
It tells Dutt’s fall is less to do with
the weaknesses in his character but more to do with the situations around that
led to his down fall. It hammers the media for painting a jaundiced picture of
man who has no control over his actions . And
yet thanks to the craftsmanship of Hirani and his writer Abhijat Joshi, the
breathtaking acting of Ranbir Kapoor and that mesmerizing appearances of Vicky
Kaushal as an audience it becomes too late by the time you realize Sanju is not
a biopic , it is a film to resurrect his post Yearawada life . You remain awestruck with Kapoor’s transformation
into Dutt , as Dutt slowly manipulates your thoughts . Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal are phenomenal If 2017 belonged to Raj Kumar Rao ,2018 certainly belongs to this powerhouse performer Vicky Kaushal . From Masaan to Razi to Sanju this man is displaying an amazing range portraying various characters . The film has few genuinely hilarious moments. Yet it falls miles short of
being a genuine biopic .
Wish everyone had a friend like Hirani. Wish Anuska doesn’t have
to do wear those weird wigs and blue contact lenses , wish Sanjay Dutt would
have paid me to watch his side of the story instead of me paying for it . But
if wishes were horses ... walk into the auditorium, let Ranbir mesmerize you
with his acting , let Hirani manipulate you with his wily handiwork , let the prodigal son have an equally
eventful third innings .
