Sanju…

He was a man of myriad moods and yes, and some shoddy shades. Thus, making a biopic on someone like Sanjay Dutt would mean little more than a Bollywood business. Like his character was raising a question mark all through , a biopic on him raised many eyebrows. Why glorify a controversial character like him, many asked?

A good family, loving and caring parents, a confortable shelter… Sanju had more than enough and still he got himself trapped into the dark side of life.  Drugs, sex scandals and trails and tribulations, Sanju’s story offered all the spice that a film would require. Nothing wrong for a filmmaker to choose a script that assures to be the next blockbuster. Nevertheless, making biopic on a man who is alive would be a tough ask.

Like typical Raju Hirani films, this movie, too, is an eclectic blend of humour and emotions. While the movie effortlessly portrays shades of grey in Saju’s character showcasing things in black and white, the effort to remove that ‘terrorist’ tag becomes a lot more confessional. The scenes between Nargis, Sunil Dutt and loving son evoke all possible human emotions.  Yet they hide the obvious trauma that would erupt while dealing with the drug addict son and family’s fight with Nargis’s cancer.

Dialogues are emotional with a touch of humour and sensitivity. Yet they are way incomplete. How does a family react when the son is neck deep into the drug addiction while the mother is walking a thin line between the life and death…

Paresh Rawal as Sunil Dutt’s character is empathetic. Though there was much more to Sunil Dutt’s  real life, the film shows him to be the desperate father who is trying to get the son out of  his messy life. Ranbeer’s acting could be impeccable, yet doesn’t resemble real Sanjay Dutt beyond appearance.

The film misses on many biographical details of Sanju’s life. It is gripping in the beginning.  How can one get trapped into drugs, bad company, and underworld is convincingly projected. Yet, in the end, the film reduces itself to a point where it merely becomes an attempt to show that latent innocence in a tainted man’s life.

After all, the story is about a man who has made massive mistakes.  The director. perhaps wants its audience to say, “It happens”. Like Sanju’s real life, the very climax of the film is at the very outset, it becomes flat as it progresses. As an audience, I may not like to pass on the judgment on Sanjay Dutt’s life as he has undergone enough number of trails, the film doesn’t offer that objectivity to be neutral.

Humans cannot be spotless. Thus, the Sanju movie shows hits and misses of his life, it big time misses capturing the man behind the mistakes.  Mind that makes mistakes is often complex as it scarcely lets that man break down. If you try to add vibrancy to the shades of grey, black spots appear darker… eventually the story could be intriguing but certainly it is  not incredible as it tries to give credentials to a man who has played with fire and pushed life at own perils.