Sanju movie review: Director Rajkumar Hirani has rightly trusted an earnest actor like Ranbir Kapoor to play Sanjay Dutt in Sanju. Sanju Director - Rajkumar Hirani Cast - Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Sonam Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Manisha Koirala, Vicky Kaushal, Dia Mirza Rating - 3/5
The film’s first 15 minutes are sufficient to comprehend what the director wants the viewers to focus on – Kapoor’s jaw-dropping resemblance with the star and Dutt’s interpretation as a ‘gadaar’ and ‘terrorist’. Sanju (Ranbir Kapoor) is a typical rich brat. Born to famous parents, he doesn’t know how to cope up with the mountain of expectations. Mostly, others make a choice for him, and one such choice is substance abuse. Zubin Mistry (Jim Sarbh) becomes Sanjay’s go-to man for drugs. What follows is a lifetime of struggle for the budding actor, who -- like everything else – does what he has been asked to. As he narrates his life, we are made familiar with Dutt – the pampered child of superstars Nargis and Sunil, his life that has been spiced with multiple affairs, deadly drug phase and the time spent at the rehabilitation centre. Even though the film deals with serious issues, it does cheer you up with its pure intentions and sense of humour. Comedy-laced dialogues especially in the sequence featuring Kapoor and Vickey Kushal are an added attraction.
The film’s second half is used effortlessly to put forth Dutt’s indisputable strained relationship with his father, his legal cases and time spent at the prison for possessing arms and weapons. But because it has been directed by Hirani who is known to do things differently, he ensures it is laced with emotions and humour. Thanks to Ranbir’s nuanced performance, you stay with the movie. The actor, now in his 50s, gets so furious that he hurls a shoe at the writer. He is unhappy with the comparison as he considers himself an ordinary person.
The director continues with the sympathetic tone towards his subject as he brings in a new biographer, Vinnie Diaz (Anushka Sharma). In Sanju, we witness an immoral womaniser who is ashamed of himself deep down. This phase of Sanju, the film, is totally riding on Ranbir’s shoulders as the director keeps delaying the topic of terrorism, AK 56 and RDX. He has tried to bind the screenplay with songs , instead of adding intensity to the film, that breaks the flow. On the topic of intensity, Sanju seems like two different films from the perspectives of Hirani and Ranbir. While Hirani’s Sanju is about the paradoxical life of a star, Ranbir’s is much more deep and complex.
Ranbir tries his best to add profundity to the proceedings, but the simple-linear narrative doesn’t give him the wings to fly. Among others, it’s Manisha Koirala who impresses as Nargis Dutt. Vicky Kaushal begins well but finds it difficult to remain the same guy as the film nears climax. A little spoiler here, but when he cries against a wall later in the film, he appears to be overdoing it. An extra dash of drama spoils the effect.