And it has finally got a date – the biopic on Sanjay Dutt will hit screens on June 29 this year. “The no-holds-barred story of Sanjay Dutt,” as presenter FoxStar Studios puts it, has already captured the imagination of cinegoers. Here’s four interesting facts about the film…
Did you know…?
…Raju Hirani had dropped in to meet his ‘Munna Bhai’ while he was out on parole. He reached at around 5 pm and stayed on till 3 am listening to Sanjay talk about his extraordinary life! He was mesmerised. The next day, Dutt called around 4 pm, inviting Hirani over and again this ‘chat’ went on for 10 hours! The routine continued through 25 whole days. While Hirani would spend the day editing PK, from 5pm to 3am it was back to Sanjay's home in Bandra. By the time Sanjay returned to jail, Raju had 200 hours of recorded conversations with him.
…There were no plans for a film at that point. However, Dutt’s story followed Hirani’s LCD (Laugh, Cry, Drama) principle. After receiving Dutt’s permission to tell his tale, minus garnishing, Hirani’s writer-partner Abhijat Joshi flew down to start working on the script. They cross-checked every detail with Dutt, including the fantastic incident of the crowds at an Independence Day celebration in Chicago turning away from then city mayor, Barack Obama, to dash towards Dutt, shouting, “Munna Bhai...”. The incident was even reported in the Chicago Tribune.
RECOMMENDED READ: RANBIR KAPOOR AND DIA MIRZA CLICKED IN SANJAY AND MAANAYATA DUTT’S AVATAR!
…The film will not be a dark, gory account of Dutt’s struggle with drugs and the underworld. While not attempting to whitewash the truth, it will focus on the father-son relationship with Paresh Rawal playing Sunil Dutt, and his abiding friendships.
…Ranbir’s droopy eyes are a dead-ringer for Dutt, but fact remains that the Kapoor is a fabulous actor who is bound to stump viewers with his performance. Ranbir not only spent a lot of time with Sanjay, he also put in six months of pre-prep for the role that spans from 21 to 56 years. He even gained 12 kilos for the film. So much so, when Hirani sent Dutt a few photographs of Ranbir, Sanjay reportedly wondered why he was sending him his own pics!
