INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Rewriting history could pass off as a favourite hobby for India right nowwe don't like our past, so let's just rewrite it
Why should Bollywood be any different Millennials don't know Baba or Sanju, they know Munnabhai, the bumbling do-gooder created lovingly by
The third instalment of the Munnabhai series, "Munnabhai Chale America", had to be shelved due to Sanjay Dutt's conviction and subsequent
have been able to make it to America but "Sanju" has arrived with massive force - as of today, it holds the record for the biggest
non-festival/non holiday opening weekend and the 5th-highest debut of all time
If the rains in Mumbai had not played spoilsport, it may have crossed that mark earlier! Audience happy, film trade happy, Sanjay Dutt and
family happywhat are the critics cribbing about Why the griping about "whitewash" when everyone is loving the glossy strokes Is poetic
license a sinRanbir Kapoor in a still from the film "Sanju"Don't know about the critics, but I felt Sanjay Dutt deserved a more honest,
layered portrayalnot the victim narrative or the cheap trick of a misunderstood man with a heart of gold
I feared it would happen when it was confirmed that a biopic would be made on the life and times of Dutt even as he lives and works in
I bought it up with Raju Hirani while he was shooting "PK" in 2014, when the idea of the biopic was still being tossed around
Raju Sir reassured me the film will be factual since so much information was already in the public domain and Baba himself had over the
years spoken about his life at length
We discussed the very candid episode of "Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hain", a TV show produced by TheIndianSubcontinent in which Sanjay and Sunil Dutt
revisited his drug phase and the 1993 TADA case.What is obvious after watching "Sanju" is that it is an endorsed biopic (which has been
fictionalized as the disclaimer in the film says) of Sanjay Dutt, as told by Sanjay Dutt! This is the version of his life that he (plus
Manyata + family) will want people to believe and remember
That he should choose Raju Hirani, the writer-director who conceived and popularized him as "Munnabhai", an image that has outlived his bad
boy with guns persona of a "Khalnayak", is not difficult to understand
What is difficult to understand though is why Raju Hirani played along
A master of innovative commercial hits, he could have been more daring and authentic
Audiences would have still loved "Sanju", may be loved him more, if some complexities of his character, some darker corners of his life, had
been made public without attempts to rainbow them up
Maybe some ownership of Sanjay Dutt's role in the circumstances of his own life would have made me respect him more
That would have been the revelationthe rest we already know.Sanjay Dutt with wife ManyataHirani, astute filmmaker, knew this criticism would
be exercised against him, so the first 10 minutes of "Sanju" shows the film-maker's dilemma through two writers who are commissioned to
write Sanjay Dutt's life story
The first (played by Piyush Mishra) who draws parallels between Baba and Bapu is forcibly thrown out of the house
The more savvy one (played by Anushka Sharma with blue contact lenses) initially refuses to chronicle the life and times of a terrorist but
is cajoled by Baba (and Manyata) into writing "Kuchh Toh Log Kahenge" (in English and for an international audience, if you please)
Sorry not sorry for being one of those "Log"!I was 11 when "Rocky" (1981) released
When Sanjay Dutt asked Tina Munim "Kya yahi pyaar hai" I happily affirmed, "haan (X3), yahi pyaar hain"
Through the terrible 80s, I remained loyal to Sanju through his unchallenging big hits as he romanced Mandakini in "Jeeva" ("Roz roz aankhon
tale, ek hi sapna chale") Madhuri in "Saajan" ("Tu shayar hai, mein teri shayari")
By the time Sanjay got booked under TADA in 1993, I was already a part of the TV news business
I understood the facts of the case but couldn't stop feeling bad for Dutt.I wish he had remained the bad boy of my wonder yearsnot the hyped
poor dear victim of now.(Sonal Joshi is a consultant with TheIndianSubcontinent 24x7.)Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article
are the personal opinions of the author
The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of TheIndianSubcontinent and TheIndianSubcontinent does not assume
any responsibility or liability for the same.
