In Bollywood, it is difficult to make a true biopic, especially if the subject of your film is close to the project. So the first question about this Friday's much-anticipated release is - can the movie break the rules and show the truth as it is? Sanju, as you know, promises to show that side of the controversial actor Sanjay Dutt that hasn't been presented to the public through the media. Directed by his good friend and ace film-maker Rajkumar Hirani, the movie has Ranbir Kapoor in the lead. Let's tell you how good and truthful a movie like Sanju is through our review.

Sanju begins with Dutt (Ranbir Kapoor) getting rid of a biopic written about him, where he is compared to Mahatma Gandhi. It's then, he comes to know that the Supreme Court has found him guilty in the Arms Acts case of 1993, and he has to spend five years in jail. Prodded by his supportive wife Maanyata (Dia Mirza), he tries to convince a world-famous biographer Winnie Dias (Anushka Sharma) to let him tell the world his side of the story. Reluctant at first, Winnie agrees to hear him out and the so-called bumpy ride of Sanjay Dutt, the rebel and the man accused of being a 'terrorist', begins!

Now we have referenced Sanju many a time as Sanjay Dutt's biopic, the disclaimer at the start tells a different story altogether. So it is with some caution that we tread into Sanju and prepare ourselves for the surprises in store ahead of us. So to write this review, we have to view Sanju from two different perspectives - as a movie and as a biopic.

Talking about just a movie, Sanju is damn entertaining, humorous and retains many of Hirani's strengths as a film-maker. Sanju is miles than Hirani's last effort, PK, which also remains his highest grossing movie till date. Rajkumar Hirani knows the pulse of the audience and knows what works with them. The light-hearted treatment is an advantage for Sanju, as the audiences were left in splits at various junctures of the film. The first half is especially well-written, that travails Dutt's life as he enters Bollywood, his ascension into drugs, how he copes with his mother's cancer and eventual demise and his meeting of his future best friend. You are left intrigued by the proceedings in these portions, especially the movie's depiction of Dutt's struggle with drugs. For once, we feel that Hirani might actually take the risk and make a true-to-account gutsy movie (doesn't turn out that way in the end, though). Even the songs work here. Love the psychedelic picturisation of guest composer Rahman's Ruby Ruby.

You also have to appreciate Hirani for stripping away the machoism that we often perceive about Sanjay Dutt, and showing him as vulnerable, careless, tardy and at a point, even cowardly. That's a gutsy move!

The second half is lengthy and lacks the writing finesse that we saw in the first half. But more on this later. Let's talk about the performances that make Sanju a really riveting watch. Ranbir Kapoor is just par excellence in his portrayal of Dutt. Save for a couple of occasions, you really don't feel that this sort of performance can be labelled as mimicry. In fact, this holds as one of the best acts delivered by Ranbir in his career, if not the best. His transformation, both in terms of his physique and mannerisms, to portray Dutt in his various stages of life has to be commended. And he is not the only great performer here.

As his ever-supportive father the late Sunil Dutt, Paresh Rawal is terrific in every scene he appears in. Your heart will reach out for the character he is playing here, and I would be glad if Paresh Rawal spends more time in movies than spreading fake news on Twitter. Also, I would be more interested in seeing a biopic on Sunil Dutt and his love story with the late Nargis (played gracefully by Manisha Koirala) than one on his son. Don't know why the trailers promoted him so less, for Vicky Kaushal is almost the parallel lead in the movie. Playing Dutt's do-gooder 'virgin' Gujrati friend, Kaushal is too good. This man deserves more such meaty roles in biggies.

The women in the film - Anushka, Dia, Sonam, Manisha - often take a backseat as the focus mostly falls on the men. Karishma Tanna appears in a single scene, which actually was not exactly essential, and no, she is not playing Madhuri Dixit. Neither is Jim Sarbh playing Salman Khan as was speculated, Instead, he plays one of Dutt's early friends, who gets him hooked on drugs. And Sarbh plays the role with enough evil charm.

Now talking about how Sanju works as a biopic and that's where things get a bit messy. The disclaimer at the start, calling the events in the movie as 'fictionalised', gives you the hint that this, in no way, makes Sanju a true recollection of Dutt's life. True, Hirani tries to address Dutt's drug phase and his conviction in TADA, but they have been publicised so much that it would be stupid not to take them head-on if you are making a movie about him. But Sanju portrays Dutt as a victim of circumstances and media over-exaggeration that it is upto you to decide how much of the movie has to be taken seriously. Ranbir as Dutt keeps on saying that he has been wrongfully portrayed as a terrorist (bad boy, yes! Terrorist, did we?), that I do wish the movie would have been called 'My name is Dutt and I am not a terrorist'. At the same time, it ignores Dutt's previous marriages (including the existence of his daughter Trishala), as well as his various skittles in the film industry. Even his sisters get a raw deal, and we know that in real life Dutt is quite close to them. We can't help but feel that Sanju is Dutt's way of accusing the media of showing him in poor light. Ironically, the same media is also promoting Sanju as a film, big-time.

However, as a father-son relationship movie, Sanju aces in every aspect.

Yay!

- Ranbir Kapoor's excellent performance

- Vicky Kaushal and Paresh Rawal's supporting turns

- Hirani's direction

- The father-son relationship

- The humour

- The first half

Nay!

- The dramatized second half

- Fails as a true biopic

- Not many will be happy with the movie's POV

- The women of the movie are under-used, as performers and in their portrayal

Final thoughts

Sanju works purely on the strengths of Hirani's class direction, the humour and the excellent performances of Ranbir Kapoor, Paresh Rawal and Vicky Kaushal. Ranbir Kapoor is a treat to watch, and every scene of his with either Rawal or Kaushal is endearing to the core. Only don't think of it as a real biopic and expectations will fall apart.

Rating:3.5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 29, 2018 12:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).