After that rather underwhelming performance of Salman Khan's Race 3 (even though it grossed more than Rs 150 crore), all our hopes are set on Sanju to make sure the first half of 2018 ends on a bright note. The trailers have been promising, Sanjay Dutt's life on which the movie is based is intriguing, and Ranbir Kapoor as an actor is awesome. And of course, the movie is directed by Rajkumar Hirani who has never delivered a flop till now.
Now we will be stupid enough to believe that Sanju to be a true reflection of Sanjay Dutt's controversial life. Going by the trailer, we did see that movie will be addressing his early drug phase, his possession of illegal arms during the 1992 riots and his eventual arrest and jail sentence. But these are highly publicised events and Hirani would look like a fool not to portray them in Sanju. As for his numerous affairs, Sanju does have Ranbir as Dutt about his 308 girlfriends, but will it dare to mention them by names or address his affairs with Madhuri Dixit and Tina Munim? We don't think so, nor do we think that movie will address these five controversial episodes in his life.
Planned to beat up Rishi Kapoor
Rishi Kapoor's autobiography Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored mentions a hilarious incident where he revealed how in the '80s, Sanjay Dutt and Gulshan Grover had landed at his house to beat him! Why? Because Dutt thought Rishi was having an affair with his then-girlfriend Tina Munim. However, Neetu Singh intervened and saved Chintuji's ass. Now we are sure Ranbir wouldn't want a scene where he goes to beat up his dad!
His late wife Richa Sharma catching his affair with Madhuri Dixit
Sanjay Dutt's first wife, Richa Sharma had succumbed to cancer in the '90s after fighting a long battle against the disease. But before she passed away, she also discovered a harsh truth about her husband. As per Dutt's unofficial biography, The Crazy Untold Story of Bollywood's Bad Boy, written by Yasser Usman, she knew about his affair with Madhuri Dixit (something bot the actors have vehemently denied ever existed), which lead to a strained relationship between her and Dutt. An excerpt from the book read, "In an interview to CineBlitz, Richa's sister Ena Sharma said that Sanjay didn't even come to the airport to pick up Richa and Trishala. After spending just fifteen days in Mumbai, she abruptly went back to New York. According to the Sharma family, throughout her fight with cancer, Richa was motivated by the thought of finally getting to live a normal, happy life with Sanjay and their daughter Trishala. But now that she was in remission, her dream seemed futile and unattainable. She was utterly shattered."
Telling Chota Shakeel to threaten Govinda
Sanjay Dutt was often accused of being close to gangster Chota Shakeel. He was also not on good terms with fellow actor, Govinda, with whom he gave hits like Jodi No 1 and Haseena Maan Jaayegi. Some years back, media revealed transcripts of his conversation with the gangster, where he asked Shakeel to straighten up Govinda. However, the veracity of these phone calls was not verified and Dutt was left scot-free.
Controversy surrounding his marriage with Maanyata
When Dutt got married to his current wife, Maanyata, there were rumours she was already married to another man named Meraj ul Rehman. We don't know how real are these claims since the man is in question was in jail after he was arrested for sending obscene messages to actresses and models. But it is a well-known fact that Dutt's sisters Priya and Namrata were not happy with the marriage and chose not to attend it.
His frequent bails
When Sanjay Dutt was finally convicted in the illegal arms act and had to serve the remainder of his sentence in Yerwada jail, it wasn't entirely controversy-free. Dutt frequently used to get bails, in the name of his medical condition, for visiting his family, making many question why the actor was giving so many privileges when others didn't get that leeway.
Now that Sanju is set to release tomorrow, let's see how Hirani has managed to do justice to the various shades of Sanjay Dutt's life.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 28, 2018 07:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).