Sanju, A Lost Boy Or Enfant Terriblé?

Sanju has been made by people who have a soft spot for Sanjay Dutt and that tender approach shows through. They’ve tried their best to remain objective and not glorify him, but have succeeded only partially.

The movie however belongs to Ranbir Kapoor who has imbibed the nuances just enough to make it real and not end up as a caricature. I’ve NEVER been a Sanjay Dutt fan but Ranbir’s performance almost had me converted.  Whether or not it does anything to improve Sanjay Dutt’s enfant terriblé image, it gives Ranbir a reason to smile and we should be happy about having discovered Vicky Kaushal, who plays the too-good-to-be-true friend. He’s been noticed in Masaan and Razi but Sanju will probably make every one sit up and take note.

But why was Anushka in a blue eyed, curly haired cringe-worthy avatar? The film makers spent only as much as her screen time to chart out her character. That was completely unnecessary.

The second was the use of songs that the father uses to inspire the son. That is something I relate to, because I’ve grown up hearing these lyrics and they still don’t fail to inspire me or drag me out of my blues. There’s a lot of conflicting opinion among viewers which I leave for them to sort. But I definitely disagree that they have glorified the bad guy.

He’s been shown as an ordinary person who is stymied by his parents’ stature. For all his macho imagery, one slap from the police inspector was enough to scare him into spilling the beans. He’s made bad choices and paid for it. So there’s a lesson to be learnt there and taught to our kids.

You fall for temptation, you err and then you get into a mess which is only up to to clean. Let’s not call it a biopic – it’s just a slice of his life served to you in Hirani’s oversimplified and happy-go-lucky style. He can be forgiven for that.

First published here.

Dr Shivani Salil

I am a doctor with an MD in Clinical Microbiology, working at KEM Hospital, Mumbai.

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