Sanju: A Heart Warming Blend of Reality & Fiction
“Sanju” was in limelight from the day the movie was launched, the reason, the talented combination of Rajkumar Hirani and Ranbir Kapoor 
coming together for the first time and above all the man on which the movie is based Sanjay Dutt, whose life has been nothing more of a blockbuster movie.
“Sanju” largely captures two very eminent chapters of Sanjay Dutt’s life, one his struggle during his drugs days and how he rose like a phoenix and re-started his life, and second his brush with law for possession of arms first under TADA and next under Arms Act. It also captures his relationships with his parents and his friends with the most emphasis on his relationship with his father Sunil Dutt.
The deadly combination of Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi again weaves in the magic as their previous movies (Munnabhai MBBS, Lage Raho Munnabhai, 3 Idiots and PK). The screenplay is the strongest point of the movie wherein Sanjay Dutt is not shown holier than thou and is shown as human with all the shortcomings and shown more as a victim of circumstances, which may not be completely true but we are not complaining. The movie primarily captures what the Dutt household went through during Sanjay’s Drugs days and later his case for keeping AK 56, what the common people do not know and how media played havoc in their lives. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry and it makes you think whether all is true that is circulated in the form of news. The screenplay very smartly blends the melodrama to heighten the emotional quotient but still it keeps you entertained and does not look over the top. The father son scenes are the highlight of the movie and stays with you long after the movie is over.
Even the best of screenplay cannot shine without the right set of actors and the casting by Mukesh Chabra is apt. Ranbir Kapoor as Sanjay Dutt just kills it by living the role and gets everything correct, right from the mannerism to the swag and the way he looks from being a 20 year old to a man of 50 years, even the way he talks, all is so apt that 10 minutes into the movie and you forget the real Sanjay Dutt and start thinking Ranbir as Sanjay Dutt. Ranbir Kapoor will definitely sweep all the awards for this year in all award functions. We can say Ranbir Kapoor is back. Vicky Kaushal as Sanju’s friend Kanhaiyalal Kapasi does a brilliant job, he is not only good in comic sequences but raises the bar in emotional scenes, especially that one scene when he confronts Paresh Rawal who plays Sunil Dutt. Vicky after “Raazi” re-iterates his calibre and credential with “Sanju”. Vicky will sweep all the awards for “Best Supporting Actor” category this year. Paresh Rawal as Sunil Dutt gives a crackling performance; especially his scenes with Ranbir Kapoor are a delight to watch. Manisha Koirala who plays Nargis Dutt brings the breath of fresh air in her performance of an ailing mother who is spirited and loves his son to death, a brilliant come back I must say. Anushka Sharma as the biographer Winnie Diaz, though a relatively small role but she makes an impact nonetheless. Dia Mirza as Manyata Dutt does not have much to do. Jim Sarbh as the drug pedlar Zubin Mistry continues with his mean act with élan. Sonam Kapoor brings the glamour quotient to the movie. Rest of the cast like Boman Irani, Karsihma Tanna, Sayaji Shinde and Anjan Shrivastav do a good job.
Rajkumar Hirani does not lose his Midas touch in “Sanju”. His simplistic way of narration strikes the chord, making it relatable and connecting with the audience well. The beauty of Rajkumar Hirani is that he keeps the melodrama intact without making is jarring and even in serious scenes he has the element of humour which makes it entertaining. Hirani has this knack of creating the right ambience for his scenes whether it is a comic sequence or an emotional scene which does the magic. Yet again Rajkumar Hirani proves his worth as a fabulous film maker.
A movie cannot be what it is without its technical crew who make the vision of the director live. Starting with the cinematography by S Ravi Varman, who presents Hirani’s vision with the right colour and texture to the scenes through his camera, Production Designer Shashank Tere accentuates visual appeal of the movie with the right props as per the time which is being presented in the scene.
There are precisely 4 songs in movie starting with “Main Bhi Bandhiyaan” by Rohan-Rohan which is beautifully sung by Sonu Nigam and Sunidhi Chauhan and is a fun song, which will play in the party circles for long, Ruby Ruby by A R Rahman is melodious but I thought that song was not given its due credit in the execution, the third song “Kar Har Maidan Fateh” is a motivational song by Vikram Montrose and sung hauntingly by Sukhwindara Singh and Shreya Ghoshal is the best track of the movie and even in the movie it comes at the right time and the last song which is in the credits “Baba Bolta Hain Bas Ho gaya” is again a fun song by Vikram Montrose and sung by Papon and Ranbir Kapoor has an element of surprise in the movie.
In a nutshell “Sanju” strikes the right chord, thanks to the magic created by Rajkumar Hirani and the fabulous performance by Ranbir Kapoor and rest of the cast, making it one of the best biopic of Bollywood, I will go with 4 stars.
Movie Rating: 
(4 / 5)