Sanju......When Rajkumar
Hirani is at the helm, one expects certain good elements in a film:
Sensitive portrayal of the subject at hand, emotions at the core of the story,
a dose of humour and a clean entertainer. As usual, Hirani ticks most of these
boxes with Sanju too.
Ranbir Kapoor plays the
problem child and flawed personality of Sanjay Dutt with some finesse,
transforming his body and looks from a 21 year old to a 40+ year old,
effortlessly. He's in Rockstar (Ranbir's earlier film with Imtiaz Ali)
territory here, and seems to relish playing successful yet unhappy characters.
And what does one say
about Vicky Kaushal? After his impressive turn in Razi, as a Pakistani major,
here he plays Sanjay's gujju best friend Kamli, who serves snakes from holes.
(You will understand it after seeing the film) Does he bring substance to his
character or does he? He has, almost overshadowed Ranbir in a few scenes.
Alas, these cinematic
elements aside, this is a film where it is difficult not to keep comparing
reality with what's being shown on screen. There are some wonderful emotinal
scenes, in the second half, but I couldn't connect with them as reality
of the events kept ringing alarm bells. Our Sanju baba it seems, took the baba
in his name too seriously and remained a pampered child for most of his adult
life. The naivety his choices is laughable at most times, and not in a good
way. The film portrays the late Sunil Dutt almost as a modern day saint.
Consciously or unconsciously, this has turned into a PR effort for the Dutt
family.
The makers brazenly seem
to give a message that it's ok to be a criminal and acquire weapons illegally,
but as long as one isn't a terrorist, one's parents will still be proud and
happy.
Whether Sanjay Dutt knew about Mumbai bomb blasts plan in advance
is a question only he or god can answer now. But, any connection to reality
aside, as a film, this is a noteworthy effort from the director and the entire
cast.
