Rajkumar Hirani’s ‘biopic’ of Sanjay Dutt star is here – and
it works very well, even if it does not aim to paint a nuanced picture of its
protagonist and ends up feeling very simplistic and one-sided. What is complex
and nuanced, however, are the performances, led by what can only be described
as an absolute tour de force performance from Ranbir Kapoor. The actor
practically vanishes in the role, and more often than not I was unable to
distinguish the actor from the character.
“Sanju” unravels more as a sequence of events than a biopic –
the storytelling is done as a biographer Winnie Diaz (played by Anushka Sharma,
one performance which feels out of place here) is piecing together aspects of
the star’s troubled life; on a request from the actor who wants his side of the
story told. The movie focuses on two major aspects of the actor’s life – the
first half is focused on his early years and his battle with drug addiction and
the loss of his mother; while post-interval the focus shifts on his legal
troubles and being branded a terrorist.
In typical Raju Hirani fashion, there are strong emotional moments
which tug at your heartstrings, as well as a lot of humour peppered in. For me,
the emotional bits are far stronger – the humorous bits work for the most part
(with a lot of it being absolutely hilarious), but for me a lot of it took away
from the momentum of the story telling and disinvested. But the biggest takeaway
for me was that the movie plays it very safe, choosing to squarely blame the
media all through the second half and painting the protagonist as a
misunderstood figure who is merely a victim of the media. While this may be
true to a large extent, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the simplistic manner
of presenting it is a disservice. Fake news is now a hot topic, and it looks
like the makers are using it to their advantage and basically using is as a scapegoat
to point fingers at – the song during the credits lays it in thick, though in a
fun way. It takes a bit away from the movie as well – the plot threads where both
the biographer and the best friend are swayed by news articles so easily
without doing even basic research of their own despite being so heavily
invested in the actor is silly to say the least. That being said, the Rajkumar
Hirani template is almost a formula for success with its crowd-pleasing nature,
and so it isn’t surprising that the director doesn’t tread a different path –
if you do not think too much on these aspects you will enjoy the movie.
The performances are definitely the highlight of this movie.
The main cast is very strong – Manisha Koirala as Nargis Dutt has a striking
resemblance and backs it up with a great performance. Paresh Rawal as Sunil
Dutt, while not having much by way of resemblance, makes a winning turn as the ever-suffering
father who refuses to give up on his son. The supporting cast is also very good
(not a big fan of Sonam Kapoor and Anushka Sharma’s performances, so not much
to say there). The highlights of the movie for me were the performances of Vicky
Kaushal and Ranbir Kapoor – Kaushal as Sanjay Dutt’s friend who stays by him
through thick and thin (through the first half atleast) has some fine
performances behind him, and this is one more under his belt. Same can be said of
Ranbir, and I sincerely hope his bad run improves (this one will definitely
help). This is a role for the ages, and Ranbir sinks his teeth into it. With
the help of great support by way of make up and costume, Ranbir not only gets
the physical aspects down pat, but portrays the emotional turmoil of Sanjay
Dutt across many years with such ease, the performance does not seem like an
imitation even for a minute. This is definitely a performance to remember; and
should be one of the best of the year.
All said and done, go ahead and watch “Sanju”. Don’t go
expecting a nuanced biopic that covers a lot of aspects of its controversial subject
matter – it is a regular fun Rajkumar Hirani movie, and while it may not count
among his best, it is a good one elevated by arguably the best ensemble cast he’s
had, led by two performances that leave a lasting impression.
