While booking tickets for Sanju, I expected a movie on Sanjay Dutt but this biopic fails badly as it's just a summay of his controversies and various people, situations on which they area blamed whereas he gets a clean character certificate. Rest it's an utterly boring movie with over emotional, boring son dad conversations, forced comedy scenes, an explanation of Sanjay Dutt's controversies and an attempt to show that Law & Order, media & everyone had tried to frame an innocent actor! He can do drugs, purchase weapons during Mumbai blast, RDX truck, connections with underworld, can sleep with his best friend's girlfriend (calling her characterless next day) and still calls media is bad! Too much high end emotional drama and just an attempt to gain sympathy from audience. His acting career, movies, hard work (if any),love life etc are missing completely - how come is it a biopic? Connection with all characters is missing. Son, dad, mom, friend, wife - feelings are missing. Someone dies or is unwell, there's no feel coz of no connection. Who cares how he spent time in jail - a criminal is serving time, what's such a big deal? Sanjay Dutt is portrayed so innocent that sometimes he seems like a person with very low IQ level and in some scenes mentally ill. Sundeep Dutt's character is ripped off and displayed more like Gandhi. The only time we laughed was watching a trailor in the intermission. We got tricked after checking IMDb ratings. Giving 1 for Ranbeers acting.

SANJU REVIEW :

Ever since i heard about this Project I was very negative about it I was like why Hirani is making a biopic on Sanjay Dutt I mean come on he is not a legend rather he is stamped as A Criminal then why is Raju Hirani going off track keeping his social appealing films formula aside? But then I had a faith on him as he never disappointed, he must have found something interesting in Sanjay Dutt life and that's why he is making a film. And Hirani does not disappoint and makes that faith on him much stronger with Sanju. He is a Genius and has made this not so Social film a Classic with Family Values, Friendship and Emotional bonding through his Vision.

Ranbir Kapoor in and as Sanju Delivers a memorable and best performance of his career till date. There are so many stages and ages of Sanjay's life from a young drug addict, an upcoming superstar, then a Set Superstar, a physically fit icon and then the last one as a 50+ man i mean a current Sanjay Dutt. All these are played by Ranbir Kapoor so perfectly that it looks like he is working in 4-5 different films at the same time, he looks like Sanju, he talks like Sanju, he walks like Sanju, he does everything like Sanju. Ranbir is surely going to win a bunch of awards for Sanju. Paresh Rawal has given a justice to his role and that was expected because he is one of the greatest actor in Bollywood. The surprise package here is Vicky Kaushal who Delivers a power packed performance and stands tall along with Ranbir and Paresh Rawal. Jim Sarabh plays negative character and suits it. Anushka, Dia, Sonam and others have small roles and have done the expected job.

Sanju starts slightly slow and you feel like is Hirani going to deliver something below Expectations or what? But it doesn't happen and Sanju keeps you hooked, entertains you, makes you emotional and at the end it gives you a satisfaction of watching a Worthy film. The First half is very good but that is not enough considering the high standard set by the director, then second half packs a Solid punch and recovers that burden of first half. For that, credit must go to the screenplay writing which is engaged and throughout gripped. Cinematography is excellent you will see some eye pleasing frames on screen. Dialogues are outstanding and are loaded with the Hirani trademark such as Humour, Realism and bit tabu. Although Sanju lacks those expected Big Laugh riot scenes from a Hirani film still it has some of its own Shout out scenes but slightly in a vulgar way. Music is Decent, 'Kar Har Maidan Fateh' gives Goosebumps and works perfectly as an Inspiration song, other songs fades away very soon. Rajkumar Hirani's Direction is something what we admire, we don't expect anything less than a Classic from him and he does it again. Delivers the 5th Consecutive Classic, a feat which no one would have ever thought of. Said it many times, saying it again Hirani is the Best Director of Bollywood of his Generation, nobody is even close to him, Period.

Just like others I also hated Sanjay Dutt for his mistakes and by reading about him in Newspapers but after watching Sanju I have a respect for him, such a fighter he is, that hypocrisy of media is exposed. He is drinker, He is Womaniser, He is Drug Addict but he is not a Terrorist. Thank you Rajkumar Hirani for bringing this story on screen otherwise I would have never realise what actually Sanjay Dutt is. Go and watch Sanju ASAP you will laugh, enjoy and cry just like me. Rating- 8/10*

Rajukumar Hirani's keenly anticipated 'SANJU' has finally hit the screens. With tremendous hype & fantastic pre-release promotions, the expectations from 'SANJU' are expectedly gargantuan. So does this biopic live up to its hype? The Answer is a Yes, but with a few eyebrows flipping up and down.

Reason? Sanjay Dutt is not only a Superstar of India, but also one of the most controversial figures of our country. His Life, right from his addiction to drugs, to superstardom, to his jail sentence, to his release, has been seen, observed& witnessed by millions of people. So, making a biopic on a figure as celebrated & questioned as him, requires a no-holds-barred narrative. And Hirani, the genius Director, attacks 'SANJU' with a pinch of realism. And at the same, he treats 'SANJU' as a filmy, Bollywood biopic, that at the end, plays it a bit too safe.

'SANJU' Synopsis: Sanjay Dutt (Ranbir Kapoor) narrates his turbulent yet courageous life to a writer (Anushka Sharma),when his name is questioned again when he is sentenced for the second time by the court of law for under arms act. Its his journey right from his early days of becoming a star, to drug addiction, to losing his mother, gaining back his life & stardom, to further turbulences, including the loss of his father.

Sanjay Dutt's life deserves a biopic. Heck, this man has seen the peak of popularity & wealth and has also seen the days of a convict, who lived in a prison with no windows to even being called a terrorist by the media. Its indeed a journey that demands your attention. And Hirani presents 'SANJU' as a biopic that begins right from the beginning to the superstar's release in 2016.

'SANJU' has a rousing first-hour, where each & every sequence leaves you stunned. The initial days of drug-addiction, to meeting his best-friend, to the loss of his mother & the burden of being a popular leading actor's son, are presented & executed with gut-wrenching realism. The first-hour of 'SANJU' is riveting stuff & its what a biopic demands: honesty & pace. I found myself emotionally overwhelmed in this hour & also found myself tripping over the film's skill, that switches between humorous to heartbreaking.

However, post interval, 'SANJU' becomes less impactful. And the prime reason being the change of pace & the honesty turning into a one-man's version of a story. Again, Sanjay Dutt is no ordinary man & his good-will is enormous, but this hour of 'SANJU' appears a little too safe. While the first-hour is so engrossing despite its heroes flaws & lack of ambition, the second-hour turns into a filmy affair. The sequences in the jail are effective, but appear lanky overall, as the gear shifts into a Bollywood-ish biopic, where melodrama sets in & you begin to realize that you're watching a movie after all, which is meant to cater to all. 'SANJU', just like its protagonist, begins fearlessly but later slips into a propaganda, which takes away from its glory overall. This is an uneven biopic, that doesn't maintain a consistently balanced pace nor does it have the courage to be no-holds-barred entirely. Also, some of the characters shown here, are given different names to real life. Again, a minus for a biopic, that promised to go all the way! And that's a little disappointing, since this biopic is made by Hirani, who has delivered one gem after the other. Of course, his previous efforts weren't biopics, but the expectations from a cinephile like me, weren't obviously going to be low.

Coming to the Writing, Hirani & Abhijat Joshi's Screenplay is excellent in the first-hour, delivering ace after ace. But, as mentioned earlier, the second-hour is less effective & turns filmy. The Writing needed to be stronger overall, though some of the bits are truly terrific. Hirani's Direction is simplistic, as always. Cinematography is perfect. Editing is crisp, despite a running-time of 162-minutes! Background Score is powerful. Make-Up & the Art & Costume Design are remarkable.

Performance-Wise: Ranbir is simply superb as SANJU. The immensely talented actor slips into this mammoth challenge to portray a superstar as relevant as Sanju & performs with astonishing conviction. Ranbir not only looks the part, but also inhabits the body-language as well as the heart of the man, to startling results. Definitely, among Ranbir's finest works to date. Vicky Kaushal is the real surprise package here though. As Sanju's best-friend Kamles/Kamli, Kaushik is magic personified. The actor sinks his teeth into the part & shines all through, matching up-to Ranbir (and at times overpowers him) and is undoubtedly the scene-stealer. Wow! Paresh Rawal as the Late/Great Sunil Dutt, is sadly miscast. Though he's fair in the role, the actor doesn't look like the man he's playing. Manisha Koirala is wonderful as the Late/Great Nargis, delivering a elegant turn in a small cameo. Jim Sarbh as the dodgy Zubin Mistry aka GOD, is fantastic. Dia Mirza as Manyata Dutt, is alright. Sonam Kapoor as Ruby, does a fair job. Boman Irani is efficient as Ruby's dad. Anushka Sharma as Winnie Diaz, a biographer who catches Sanju's interest, looks gorgeous & justifies her part. Kashish Vohra is cute. Others lend support.

On the whole, 'SANJU' isn't as gutsy as it promised to be. Nonetheless, its a decent film, with a gripping first-hour & some very strong performances. Go, and experience the story this weekend!