Sanju
Public
Review:
Ranbir
Kapoor
|
Sanjau
Dutt
|
Rajkumar
Hirani
|
Sonam
Kapoor
|
FilmiBeat
Rating:
4.0/5
Star
Cast:
Ranbir
Kapoor,
Anushka
Sharma,
Sonam
Kapoor,
Dia
Mirza,
Manisha
Koirala
Director:
Rajkumar
Hirani
At
the
beginning
of
Sanju,
we
see
one
of
the
characters
trying
to
draw
a
comparison
between
'Baba' and
'Bapu'
in
a
hilarious
sort
of
manner
when
asked
by
Sanjay
Dutt
(Ranbir
Kapoor)
to
pen
his
biography.
Of
course,
Dutt's
not
the
way
so
the
man
is
quickly
shown
the
door.
Right
then
and
there,
Rajkumar
Hirani
establishes
the
fact
that
Sanju
isn't
your
regular
biopic!
Sanjay
Dutt
may
be
synonymous
with
Gandhigiri
but
in
real
life,
the
picture
was
quite
different.
Bole
toh
in
Sanju's
words,
"Apna
Life
Full
Saanp
Seedhe
Ka
Board
Hai,
Kabhie
Up
To
Kabhie
Down!
Also
Read
In
Kannada:
'ಸಂಜು'
ವಿಮರ್ಶೆ:
ರಣ್ಬೀರ್-ರಾಜಕುಮಾರ್
ಹಿರಾನಿಯ
'ಮಾಸ್ಟರ್
ಪೀಸ್'!
Finally,
when
we
along
with
the
established
writer
Winnie
(Anushka
Sharma)
peek
into
Sanjay
Dutt's
life
through
Hirani's
cinematic
lens,
we
realize
that
the
film-maker
almost
succeeds
in
humanising
his
larger-than-life
persona
with
the
help
of
a
heart-touching
father-son
story.
A
major
portion
of
the
first
half
of
Sanju
talks
about
his
tryst
with
drugs
and
his
struggle
to
overcome
this
deadly
addiction.
Hirani
takes
us
to
the
sets
of
Rocky
where
a
young,
naive
Sanjay
Dutt
(Ranbir
Kapoor)
is
nervous
for
his
first
take.
He
is
supposed
to
shot
the
romantic
'Kya
Yahi
Pyaar
Hain' minus
the
heroine.
A
picture
of
Hema
Malini
and
Amjad
Khan's
Gabbar
Singh
comes
to
his
rescue
in
a
rather
hilarious
way
after
his
dad
Sunil
Dutt
(Paresh
Rawal)
shows
him
a
trick.
However,
the
rebellious
streak
in
Sanju
soon
comes
into
the
forefront
when
one
of
his
fake
friends
Zubin
Mistry
(Jim
Sarbh)
gets
him
hooked
to
drugs.
Soon,
his
relationship
with
his
girlfriend
(Sonam
Kapoor)
goes
kaput
and
he
discovers
his
mother
Nargis
(Manisha
Koirala)
is
suffering
from
cancer
and
later
succumbs
to
it.
Dutt
goes
to
seek
solace
in
drugs
again.
Fortunately,
a
ray
of
hope
arrives
in
his
life
when
he
strikes
a
friendship
with
Kamlesh
(Vicky
Kaushal).
He
helps
Sanju
in
getting
out
of
the
whirlwind
of
drugs
along
with
his
father.
But
then
things
don't
remain
hunky-dory
for
long.
Sanju
once
again
finds
himself
in
deep
trouble
after
he
is
charged
under
TADA
and
Arms
Act
case.
It's
at
this
point
where
you
get
a
helpless
father
torn
between
his
love
for
his
son
and
his
moral
code.
At
the
same
time,
Hirani
also
takes
a
dig
at
media
for
publishing
factually
incorrect
stories
by
hiding
behind
a
question
mark
and
holds
them
responsible
for
passing
quick
judgements.
Ironically,
in
real
life,
Ranbir
Kapoor
just
like
Dutt
often
finds
his
personal
life
discussed
with
question
marks
in
public
domain.
(Spoiler!
During
the
closing
credits,
when
you
see
Sanjay
Dutt
and
Ranbir
Kapoor
shaking
a
leg
and
poking
fun
at
the
'sources'
in
media,
you
just
can't
help
yourself
from
drawing
parallels
and
chuckling!)
On
the
flip
side,
those
expecting
to
see
the
juicy
details
of
his
several
affairs
and
other
aspects
of
personal
life
will
be
in
for
a
disappointment
as
Hirani
refrains
from
touching
upon
those
chapters.
You
don't
say
much
of
greys
here
and
what
about
the
inner
conflicts?
Speaking
about
the
performances,
Sanju
is
Ranbir
Kapoor's
show.
Right
from
the
first
frame
till
the
last,
not
once
does
the
young
lad
make
you
feel
that
you
ain't
watching
the
real
man
on-screen.
While
his
uncanny
resemblance
to
Dutt
helps,
it's
Ranbir's
sharp
acting
prowess
which
helps
him
mould
into
his
reel
life
so
effectively.
Be
it
Sanjay
Dutt's
slouching
walk
or
his
talking
mannerisms,
Ranbir
gets
it
bang
on
right!
His
tight
hold
on
emotions
leaves
you
with
a
'wow'.
Paresh
Rawal
strikes
magic
and
his
scenes
with
Ranbir
are
a
treat
to
watch;
be
it
the
emotional
or
humorous
ones!
My
god,
Vicky
Kaushal
took
me
by
pleasant
surprise!
In
Sanju,
he's
like
you
never
seen
before.
His
bromance
with
Ranbir
Kapoor
is
one
of
the
most
entertaining
aspects
of
Sanju.
Manisha
Koirala
is
flawless
and
the
scene
where
she
mimics
a
Hollywood
actress
leaves
you
spell-bound.
Anushka
Sharma,
Sonam
Kapoor
and
Dia
Mirza
are
fine
in
their
roles.
Jim
Sarbh's
delicious
sliminess
gets
a
thumbs
up.
Karisma
Tanna
ends
up
with
a
forgettable
cameo.
Ravi
Varman's
cinematography
beautifully
captures
the
essence
of
Sanjay
Dutt's
life.
Rajkumar
Hirani
and
Abhijat
Joshi's
writing
is
rock-solid
and
entertaining.
Out
of
the
three
tracks,
it's
'Kar
Har
Maidan
Fateh'
which
tugs
your
heartstrings.
Rajkumar
Hirani's
skilful
direction
and
Ranbir
Kapoor's
fine
act
turn
Sanjay
Dutt's
flawed
life
into
a
wholesome
entertainer
with
good
intentions.
After
all,
there's
a
crack
in
everything.
Isn't
that
how
the
light
gets
in?
I
am
going
with
4
stars
here.