Ever since the trailer released, Sanju has been creating quite a buzz, especially because of Ranbir Kapoor’s look as Sanjay Dutt.
But the movie comes with multiple plotholes, primarily because it tries to encompass a grey life in a black and white frame.
The one thing that the movie did get right though was its casting, especially the star of the show, Ranbir Kapoor.
Ever since the first teaser came out, Ranbir’s ability to ace Sanjay Dutt’s mannerisms was the talk of the town.
Having seen the movie, we can confidently say, Ranbir as Sanjay Dutt is spot on.
From nailing Sanjay Dutt’s iconic walk to adopting his speech patterns, Ranbir shines in his portrayal of Sanjay Dutt – the actor, the son, and the friend.
Ranbir manages to keep the audience’s interest alive in a way few actors can. He most definitely is not a caricature.
Ranbir Kapoor makes you forget the actor but remember the character.
He brings alive the ‘misunderstood life’ of Sanju the character, and the actor Ranbir Kapoor and the persona of Sanjay Dutt take a backseat.
Ranbir Kapoor’s excellence is unparalleled, but the artists behind the star deserve just as much admiration. Primarily, prosthetic artist Dr. Murkey and hair stylist Aalim Hakim.
The movie spans Sanjay Dutt’s journey from his entry into movies with Rocky in 1981, to his final release from prison in 2016.
These artists thus had to recreate the different looks that Sanjay Dutt donned in his 37-year long career while transforming a 35-year-old actor into a 58-year-old actor.
In an interview with The Quint, Aalim Hakim revealed that Ranbir ‘insisted on growing his hair to get the Rocky look right’, but the rest of the styles were achieved using wigs and hair patches.
In fact, interestingly enough, Aalim’s father Hakim Kairanvi worked on Sunil Dutt’s hairstyle for a film and even worked with Sanjay Dutt to create the iconic ‘Rocky look’.
According to Mid-Day, Dr. Suresh Murkey revealed that he perfected the look without meeting Sanjay Dutt in-person.
It was based on the pictures that I designed Ranbir’s prosthetics. I took four sets of measurements of Ranbir’s face in order to minimize any scope of error.
He also detailed the multiple changes that needed to be made to ensure that Ranbir Kapoor’s look is as close to Sanjay Dutt as possible.
I needed to make Ranbir’s jaw bone look different to resemble Dutt’s and make his cheeks look puffy, especially near the lips. In order to add age to his face for the latter part of the film, prosthetics were worn on the upper part of his mouth so that his cheeks could look fuller near the nose and below the eyes.
Despite having heart-wrenching moments neatly tied in with instances that make you laugh out loud, it is Ranbir Kapoor, and the artists behind the actor, that support a story that lacks a much-needed depth.
Unlike Munnabhai, the story is not the biggest star here, it is the actor. Ranbir Kapoor rightfully deserves all the praise coming his way, he’s nailed it!