Very difficult to portray someone's life on screen: Rajkumar Hirani on 'Sanju'

TNN Bureau. Updated: 4/24/2018 5:27:47 PM Features

Mumbai, Apr 24: Filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani, who on Tuesday launched the much-awaited teaser of 'Sanju', a biopic of actor Sanjay Dutt,says it is very difficult to project someone's life on screen.

During a media interaction at the teaser launch of 'Sanju' here,Rajkumar said, "Sanju is a brave guy. It is very difficult to project someone's life on screen."

He also revealed that though Sanju hasn't seen the movie yet, he is okay with it.

"Sanju gave us few anecdotes from his life that we had to string together.I think we would not have been able to write the story from our imagination. So during the making of the film, the journey was more of how to string those stories into one,” he added.

The director said the experience of making a biopic is very different from a regular future film especially at the scripting level.

''I think biopic is a totally different monster altogether because you don’t have a total control over it. When you write a fresh script, a regular story, you have control over it. It is your story… you can turn the flow of your characters in whichever way you want. That’s not the case with a biopic,” he said.

Hirani said the audience can expect to know some hidden facets of the life of Sanjay, whose tryst with drugs and time in jail has been widely spoken about.

“As a filmmaker, I took chapters that interested me, but I am always interested in human stories. So I wrote the story of father-son, friendship… These are the stories that people do not know because the rest is all out there,” he said.

Speaking about how Ranbir agreed to do the project, Hirani revealed that he had approached the actor via text after the basic draft was ready.

Hirani also revealed why Ranbir was the perfect fit for the role.

He said,''as the young actor is in his 30s, it was perfect for him to play both 21-year-old Sanjay Dutt and the older version of him in his 50s. The first reason we chose him as he is an amazing actor. As the film begins from Dutt’s debut in Rocky when he was 21 and around the drug phase beginning, we needed someone who could transform easily into the character. The film, which will start from 21 to when he came out of prison at the age of 56, will showcase Ranbir in different avatars.''

Speaking of the actor, Hirani also revealed that during the filming, Sanjay Dutt only came twice to the sets of the film.

He has only seen a few scenes and does not want to see the full film before it is complete.

Ranbir Kapoor, who plays Dutt in the film said, "I have always been a Sanjay Dutt fan. So for me, it was a fan trying to play his icon on-screen. So the hardest thing I had to do, was to give myself confidence that I can play this man."

Ranbir added that he was amazed by how one man could have "multiple roles".

The actor further stated that though it was difficult to adapt the "different aspects" of Dutt in a very short time, it was "great fun".

Ranbir also said, "I usually have a very thin frame, so it was hard for me to put on muscles."

When asked if he would allow a biopic on his life to be made, Ranbir said, "Yes, of course, I will allow a movie to be made on my life but I don't think it will work."

Ranbir has undergone a drastic physical transformation to fit the part and will be seen in six different looks tracing the life of Sanjay Dutt.

Ranbir Kapoor surprised the audience with the striking resemblance to Dutt as pictures from sets hit the internet last year.

The actor not just embodied the looks of Sanjay but also learned the nuances and accent of the actor.

The team underwent tremendous research for the film including watching almost more than 200 hours of footage for the film.

Written and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, the film will also stars an ensemble cast in addition to Ranbir Kapoor which includes Anushka Sharma, Paresh Rawal, Sonam Kapoor, Dia Mirza, Karishma Tanna, Manisha Koirala, Jim Sarbh, Vicky Kaushal and Boman Irani in pivotal roles.

Produced by Vinod Chopra Films and Rajkumar Hirani Films in association with Fox star studios Dutt Biopic is all set to be released on June 29.


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