Reel vs real: The politics behind the life and crimes of Sanjay Dutt

As the debate about depiction of public figures in bio-pics continues, Sunil Dutt's attempts to bail his son out recounted.

When a film about a public figure is made, many questions relating to the accuracy or inaccuracy of portrayals arise. In a vibrant democracy, multiple truths often jostle with each other, so that we can determine for ourselves which one (or ones) we prefer. We must also ponder if any biographical film, condensing a life into two-and-a-half hours, takes certain departures from reality. In this sense, Sanju, a biopic on actor Sanjay Dutt is no exception.

In a particular scene in Sanju, Dutt is seen playing court to a political figure in Delhi, months after he was charged with the crime of possessing an AK-56 rifle and hobnobbing with those suspected of carrying out the bomb blasts in Bombay (now Mumbai) on March 12, 1993. The politician in the movie is rather indifferent and dismissive of Dutt’s plea.

In real life, it was actor-turned-politician Sunil Dutt who had indeed courted a political figure. He had once informally told a gathering of journalists – including the author – that he had approached Sharad Pawar, who became chief minister of Maharashtra soon after the bomb blasts, begging for leniency for his son. Sunil Dutt recalled bowing before Pawar, tears rolling down his cheeks, when he noticed that the politician was faintly smiling, enjoying his ordeal. Stunned and disillusioned, Sunil Dutt subsequently met Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, who eventually came out in support of Sanjay Dutt, declaring publicly he did not believe that any member of the Dutt family could be ‘anti-national’.

It was widely believed in political circles that Sunil Dutt’s family was being targeted by a section of the Congress leadership for resigning in a huff from his Lok Sabha membership after the Babri Masjid demolition and the communal riots in Mumbai. In fact, throughout Sanjay Dutt’s arrest, Pawar was suspected to be behind the family’s ordeals. In those troubled times, it was Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray who stood by the actor, despite their glaring ideological differences. Sunil Dutt would later acknowledge Thackeray’s help with a deep sense of gratitude.

Samajwadi Party leaders Akhilesh Yadav and Sanjay Dutt attend workers’ meeting at the party’s headquarters in Lucknow, March 14, 2009. Photo credit: Reuters.

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Ranbir Kapoor-starrer 'Sanju' collects Rs 1.2 billion in the first weekend

The movie, directed and co-produced by Rajkumar Hirani, raked in Rs 386 million on Saturday and followed it up with a record setting collection of Rs 467.1 million on Sunday.

After a better than anticipated opening of Rs 347.5 million on Friday, Ranbir Kapoor starrer 'Sanju' continued to attract footfalls throughout the weekend, ending up with a Rs 1.2 billion haul by the end of its first weekend.

The movie, directed and co-produced by Rajkumar Hirani, raked in Rs 386 million on Saturday and followed it up with a record setting collection of Rs 467.1 million on Sunday, bringing the film's three day collection to Rs 1.2 billion. This makes it the most successful opening of the year, and among the top opening weekend collections of all time.

Some of the records broken by the film include 'Baahubali 2: The Conclusion' that recorded first Sunday haul of Rs 461 million and 'Tiger Zinda Hai's opening weekend haul of Rs 1.14 billion. It has also beaten 'Padmaavat' (Rs 1.14 billion) and 'Race 3' (1.06 billion) to be the highest opening weekend earner of the year so far. At Rs 1.2 billion in three days, Sanju is now expected to cross the Rs 2.5 billion mark at the domestic box office with certainty.

Starring Kapoor in the titular role, along with actors like Vicky Kaushal, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Paresh Rawal and Anushka Sharma among others, the film opened to mostly positive reviews. It was released in close to 4000 screens across the country, and another 1300 screens abroad (traditional territories like UK, US and Middle East). It is among the widest distributed films of the year, second only to Salman Khan’s Eid release 'Race 3' (4300 screens).

While the movie opened to mixed to positive reviews, Kapoor’s acting has been universally lauded by critics and moviegoers which is helping it attract footfalls. Also, 'Sanju' has little to no competition at the movie halls right now, with the only other films being 'Race 3' and 'Incredibles 2'. While the animated Disney flick continues to do well in its second week, it does not pose a challenge to a mainstream Bollywood flick like 'Sanju'. Race 3 was expected to peter out in its second week in any case, given the panning the movie got from the critics, and the split word of mouth.

Sanju is also set to give Fox Star Studios its second big hit of the year after 'Baaghi 2' collected Rs 1.12 billion earlier this year.

Sanju movie review: Critics go gaga, predict 'monstrous' hit; Ranbir shines

Some said that the first half was very good but the second half was a bit of a dampener. Others revelled in Ranbir Kapoor and Rajkumar Hirani's magic from inside the theatres.

Sanju, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma, opened on Friday morning in theatres across India. The film directed by Rajkumar Hirani is touted to be one of the biggest Bollywood releases of this year.


Critics seem happy, as of now
Film trade analyst Sumit Kadel tweeted: "Sanju opens with BUMPER occupancy of 50-55% at very early morning shows (7-8) across India, 9-10 am shows will register 60-65% occupancy all over India. HUGE opening considering 4,000 plus screens"
Bollywood news website Koimoi heaped praises on the young Kapoor's portrayal of Dutt saying, "Ranbir Kapoor has done the unimaginable! He's not Ranbir Kapoor, he's not an actor, he's Sanjay Dutt in the film."
Times of India gave the film four out of five stars in its review.
Critic and trade analyst Rohit Jaiswal said that the film is not a one-man show.
Bollywood reactions
Subhash Ghai, director of blockbuster films of yesteryears, such as Hero and Taal, said: Go and watch Sanju to experience real Sanjay Dutt on screen superbly performed by my favourite actor Ranbir Kapoor bringing the real character alive. He congratulated Rajkumar Hirani, Ranbir, Anushka and Sanjay Dutt on Twitter for making a "heart touching" film.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted that the film is going to open in over 5300 screens globally. Of these, about 4,000 are in India.
Sanjay Dutt has had an on and off screen career due to upheavals in his life at regular intervals. He made a rocking debut in Bollywood with "Rocky" in 1981, put his personal life in jeopardy through drug addiction. However, his career went on a downward spiral after he was arrested in the aftermath of the Bombay blasts. Police had recovered illegal arms from his house and alleged that he was involved in the tragedy that came to be infamously known as Black Friday.



On Twitter, Audience reactions divided

As usual, Twitter had been waiting for the reactions of those who watched the first-day first show. Some said that the first half was very good but the second half was a bit of a dampener. Others revelled in Ranbir Kapoor and Rajkumar Hirani's magic from inside the theatres, Here are a few interesting ones among them: