Sanju is Rajkumar Hirani’s weakest work till date and Here’s Why!

Commencing with the declaration, I LOVED THE FILM, not to the extent I aspired to.

The hugely acclaimed Mr. Hirani, who in his career as a director spanning over a decade and a half has helmed merely five films knows the distinct art of balancing content with commerce. Therefore, it is no revelation that Sanju, corresponding to all his prior outings has been lauded both by audiences and critics alike.

I am not a fan of Sanjay Dutt, I haven’t loathed his body work but haven’t fancied him either, barring the Munnabhai Series and maybe a couple of more films. His roller-coaster personal life has failed to intrigue me, plainly warranted by the fact that the bulk of the controversy surrounding his life which I’ve witnessed, have been spillover effects from events that had already conspired before I was born. However, major buzz surrounding the film was not owing to the so-called controversial life and times of Sanju Baba, but the illustrious trailer of the film giving a glimpse into Ranbir Kapoor’s ingenious portrayal of Dutt.

My expectations were sky high and consequently, I watched the film on the second day of its release, unlike my usual practice of waiting for relatively empty theaters on a weekday. And as much as I hate to say this, it refused to satisfy my expectations to a reasonable degree. I did savor the antics of Sanju and Kamli played by Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal respectively, notwithstanding particular aspects of the film were unequivocally cringeworthy. Upon its completion, I stepped out of the theater with the  an unmistakable conviction of this being a propaganda film. Raju Hirani does little beyond unwavering endeavors continually whitewashing Sanjay Dutt’s image in his depiction of a prisoner of circumstances.

Sanju  plays the victim card spot-on, and for those who believed that Jim Sarabh was the antagonist, the media is characterized as the bigger villain. I profoundly concur to all those reviews that have slammed the depiction of women in this film, dismissing them as tangible objects. As much as I would have cherished Mr Hirani, employing his spot as the numero uno Hindi Film director formulating female-oriented film, I will not disparage him for underplaying the eminence of women in his previous outings. However, this film transposes a step ahead where all the women are mere props in a setting where at any given time there are four characters.

The first half is about Sanju his relationship with his friend Kamli and his father Sunil Dutt and DRUGS while the second half is Sanju, Kamli, Sunil Dutt and the TERRORIST TAG. It is tragic how his previous two marriages have not found a single reference in the plot and yet we are calling this movie a biopic. Forget the women who aren’t acknowledged, the ones who did manage to find a mention are of negligible value addition.

I did quite relished Sonam’s performance, which is a rare occurrence, except for the Mangalsutra scene that appears more comical than tragic. It was a delight to watch Dia Mirza on screen after ages. She was pleasing on the eye and marginally convincing as Manyata but her character sketch has been largely contrived. Despite the fact that Manyata’s foray into Dutt’s life was via small-time roles in Hindi Film, I assume her role as Dutt’s wife was considerably paramount than slyly smiling in the background when he boasts of his 350 escapades to a stranger. Instead of being regretful, he is pompous and instead of condemning his acts, his wife’s actions validate it. Honestly, I don’t care if this scene transpired in reality but thrusting it into the film even for comical relief is painstakingly regressive. The laughter in the theater as this scene unfolded made me squirm with disgust.

Veteran actress Manisha Koirala playing mother to Sanju and had the meatiest part amongst the women, but her imaginary act dancing on the mountain in Har Maidan Fateh in Salwar-Kurta-Sport Shoes seemed more ridiculous and less uplifting. The length of Anushka’s role in surpassed her designation of it as a “cameo” and it was only upon witnessing what I would label as her worst performance till date I figured why she chose not to aggressively associate with one of the most hyped films of the year. Paresh Rawal was mis-cast as Mr. Sunil Dutt making his act marginally overbearing and unbearable to the point that I rejoiced when his track ended.  

  

I will not go into the length of appreciating Kapoor’s Portrayal as Dutt, indisputably his career best performance in a career which already boasts of some of the Hindi Film Industry’s best performances. I hugely revere how Vicky Kaushal effortlessly gets into the skin each of his character making you forget all his former outing and lifting the bar ever so high. I’ve already mentioned his phenomenal ability to contest the lead actor despite restrictions in his screen time and lesser meat in his character in my review of Raazi (Read it HERE )

Coming from a man who is the master of strongly scripted narratives coupled with immense re-watch value, Sanju is merely an amalgamation of a few extra-ordinary performances, Ranbir and Vicky Kaushal to be precise and a few very wondrously written scenes.

My takeaway: If there is a man who can play Sanjay Dutt better than Dutt himself, it has to be RK.