Sanju Baba

I have no words which can or which could possibly help me talk about that man. A man, who was repeatedly pushed to the ground, beaten, slapped, kicked etc, and yet still stood strong. A man, who faced every curveball the Universe threw at him and still wasn’t out. A man who was the ultimate embodiment of the α-male in our Bollywood film industry and the original Bhai, before Salman Khan came along (it is a known fact that they were really close as friends).

With so unique a person and so unique a life, it was expected that a movie would be made on his life. And so, it was then that Mr. Rajkumar Hirani, best known for his slice-of-life films with morals, comedy and a definitive message, decided to be the captain (read director) of this particular ship that is the film.

  Now I must admit, before watching the film, I only knew Sanjay Dutt as Munnabhai, the lovable reformed goon who followed the path of Gandhigiri, or the path of Gandhi. I had almost no clue about his personal life, his personality, and his struggles, that is, essentially, I had no idea of the man behind that cheerful but dignified demeanor and that stately visage.

But after the film, I confess I was stumped, as in, I was completely and literally dumbfounded because all his experiences seemed so surreal, that they appeared to be almost untrue, but, they were in reality, so very true, and that’s exactly what made them so very surreal.

For instance, he suffered from a heavy drug addiction for a period of 5 years, during which he consumed almost every drug imaginable, from LSD to hashish, to cocaine, to marijuana to just all the other stuff out there.

He was also believed to be embroiled in the disastrous 1993 blasts in Bombay, in which over 100 people were believed to be dead and more than 800 injured, and what was more, he was also found to be in the possession of an AK-56 rifle with quite a few rounds of ammunition, the reason is to protect his father from the gangs and other well-connected people who were displeased with his father as his father had been providing relief to Muslims who had been displaced after the Babri Masjid demolition.

Now, for the movie; the movie starts off with a 60-year-old Sanjay Dutt (wonderfully and brilliantly portrayed by Ranbir Kapoor) reading his autobiography, or rather, reading a few lines from the autobiography written by a nondescript writer. However, he isn’t pleased with what he sees and rejects it.

It is at this moment that his wife, Manyata, suggests reaching out to Winnie Dyers (obviously a fictional writer in the film that is), who turns out to be a well-known writer based in London, a writer who is internationally acclaimed.

He then seeks an audience with her and requests her to write his autobiography. After much pleading, he finally agrees.

The film thus takes us back in time to 1981, when Sanjay Dutt was a very young man who was shooting for his first film Rocky, directed by his father, Sunil Dutt.

We see a young Salman Khan (portrayed by Jim Sarbh) who comes to watch the shooting of the film, and who is the very harbinger of Sanjay’s drug addiction. He gives Sanjay his first taste of drugs when Sanjay is angry with his dad and from then on, the problem spirals out of control, with Sanjay becoming a rather hopeless victim to drugs, and losing all sense of propriety, which leads to highly unsavory situations, such as almost getting jailed in New York (where his mother had been admitted from treatment), to losing his girlfriend, etc and many more such unsavory situations.

However, he comes around on the very day of the premiere of his film Rocky and requests his father to save him, following which he spends the next 1.5 years in a rehab center, returning completely cured.

He completely stops talking to God, (that is what he calls Jim Sarbh in the film) and starts to focus entirely and only on his career.

Cut to 1993 and bam! Sanjay is accused of being involved in the serials blasts that rip out Bombay. He is then sent down to Tihar Jail for 5 years, and kept in solitary, away from the other prisoners.

After he gets released, he begins to focus on his career yet again. However, a year before the Babri Masjid demolition, dark forces begin to circle him and his family, as his family, or rather; his father, in particular, begins receiving threats from certain well-connected parties who take offense to the fact that Sunil Dutt is providing relief to the Muslims who have been displaced after the Babri Masjid demolition. Owing to these very threats, he purchases an AK-56 rifle along with quite a few rounds of ammunition. This is followed by the above-mentioned incident.

After being released, he agrees to act in Munnabhai M.B.B.S, a film which gives us a timeless comedy and a story about a local but influential goon, who enters a medical school because he happens to be in love with director’s daughters, which lead to many funny scenes and jerks some tears too.

It is then that his career takes off yet again. But Fate had yet another curveball to throw at him. A year or so after that film released, he was once again accused of a terrorist act, that of hoarding RDX (or Research Development Explosive) in a truck parked at his home (which later turned out to be relief materials for the Muslims).

It is after this final jail sentence (he was naturally sentenced) that the movie finally ends, with his wife coming to pick him up and his autobiography, ‘Kuch Toh Log Kahenge’ being released and published.

That’s all about the movie folks. Therefore, I would like to end by telling all of you that, no matter what happens to you, no matter which curveball life throws at you, one should always be strong.

Chalo, Apun aap sabko bye bye tata tata bolta hai. Bole toh, goodbye.