Sanju (2018) [Movie Review]


Dir: Rajkumar Hirani
Starring: Ranbir Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Vicky Kaushal, Sonam Kapoor, Dia Mirza, Anushka Sharma and Jim Sarbh
Dur: 2 hrs 41 mins
Genre: Biopic
Rating: 8/10

I have waited for this film for a long, long time. Not because I’m a fan of Sanjay Dutt or anything, nor simply because I’m a fan of biopics but more so because of the publicity that was made about this film. Right at the outset let me tell you that the trailer is far more provocative than the film. I guess I should have said spoiler alert but I’m not letting out any plot details so it will be alright. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one waiting with bated breath for the film’s release; thousands others were too. This is evidenced with the box office collections that were made on the first day itself! The film registered the highest box office opening in the year 2018! It went on to become the highest grosser of the year and the second highest-earning Hindi film of all time! Quite impressive stats, indeed. All this was not for nothing however, the trailer promised a handful and the cast boasted some of the biggest names in the business.
 
Sanju endeavours to tell the story of Sanjay Dutt, from his own perspective. That is not only something commendable in itself, but is also something extremely unbecoming of Bollywood. This is perhaps the first time someone has been given the opportunity to tell the story of their life. What makes Sanjay’s life particularly interesting is the fact that controversy has followed him since his earliest years and there have even been stints of jail time. All this is beautifully and quite sincerely shown in the film. Many have praised Ranbir’s performance but for me the real stand-out character was Vicky Kaushal, who essayed the role of Sanjay’s best friend. Of late, Vicky has played key roles in some of the best films and here again, he continues his purple streak. I’m thoroughly impressed by him and am looking forward to more great work from the youngster.

If you come to the film looking for controversy, you will barely find any. If you come looking for entertainment, you might be disappointed. If you come with an open mind, you will be impressed. This is exactly the way I recommend you to watch the film. Cast aside all apprehensions and expectations, except for the expectation to be thrilled. The film is a terrific watch and there is hardly a dull moment. The narrative style of story-telling coupled with impressive camera work and plot twists makes this film a memorable watch. I sincerely hope that Bollywood learns from the success of Sanju and endeavours to tell many other such stories especially those that many might never have heard about.
TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J76wN0TPI4

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Great Grand Masti 2 (2016) (Movie Review)

Image
Dir: Indra Kumar Starring: Vivek Oberoi, Riteish Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Urvashi Rautela Dur: 2 hrs 10 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: 1/10 Comment: The jokes, gestures and costumes are sexually suggestive. An absolute waste of time. “What an opening line”, you might think. But to say otherwise would be an absolute lie. This film is in fact, a great grand waste of time. It’s horrible whichever way you look at it. The story is weak and thrives on cheap thrills and sorry jokes. The actresses are no doubt eye-catching but the rest is all a blur. The comedy is in fact tragedy and the film attempts to play on the basest desires of man. It’s unbelievable that actors like Riteish and Vivek would do such a film. I am not a big fan of bollywood but I still feel bad when I see bollywood making films like these. All of a sudden, I see that sex is being propagated through Indian cinema. The views of sex are changing and filmmakers and actors are not hesitating to take on unconvent
Read more

St. Joseph: A Father after the Father's Heart (Book Review)

Image
  St. Joseph: A Father after the Father’s Heart , Hyderabad: Don Bosco Publishing House, 2021, Rs. 150, pp. 240. The book is a compilation of articles from various authors writing about qualities of St. Joseph. They have used the litany of St. Joseph as an index and have put together articles on each of the invocations. All the contributors are Salesians from different parts of India but there a couple of contributors from abroad as well. The book lends itself to be a souvenir of the Year of St. Joseph that Pope Francis declared. Let me start out by commenting on the quality of production. The paper is of good quality and so is the design and layout. It is neat and has an attractive cover. Coming to the content, it gets rather repetitive but that is understandable considering that there is so little Biblical foundation for an exposition of St. Joseph. The articles often reference Pope Francis’ letter Patris Corde and extensively utilize Pope St. John Paul II’s apostolic exhortatio
Read more

A Day with Don Bosco

                              Don Bosco was declared the Patron of Youth by Pope John Paul II in 1989. He received his mission: to be Father to the young, in a dream at the tender age of nine. He nurtured this call throughout his life and never wasted an opportunity to gather boys and direct them to God. He did not do this as a spiritual director, (at least no at first!) but rather as a friend, a companion and a seminarian. As a young boy, he would attract youngsters with his magic tricks, tightrope skills, games etc and then get them to recite the rosary with him or recount to them the Sunday sermon (which he remembered thanks to his prodigious memory). Already then, he had ingeniously found a way to combine religion and entertainment. His entertainment was necer for entertainment sake but rather a façade or an advertisment for religious instruction. Even as a young priest, boys would long for more than just a wekkly encounter with him. They loved him and found in him a friend w
Read more