Review of Sanju

Sanju (2018): A Good Film, Without Conviction

Third good movie in a row in 2018! But I call Sanju a good movie without conviction.

It’s been a week since I saw Sanju — twice — and I’ve been grappling with myself over how this film should be rated. While sipping ginger-laced chai on my balcony, it finally dawned on me why I felt so conflicted.

This is a film that wants to move you, inspire you, and absolve its protagonist — and it mostly succeeds. But it does so by sanding down edges that perhaps should have remained rough.

The Problems Are Real

To begin with, the movie has many flaws — and they are not small ones.

• There are very few scenes where Ranbir Kapoor actually looks or acts like Sanjay Dutt. The rest is filled in generously by our imagination.
• The make-up used to age Sanju is unintentionally comic. That’s what happens when prosthetics are overworked.
• The editing feels shoddy in parts, especially when emotional beats are rushed.
• Winnie the ice babe suddenly turns into Winnie the weeper — with no believable transition. Come on, don’t take us for granted.
• While I understand Hirani’s trademark humour — lightening serious situations — the Boman Irani dead-body scene crosses a line. The slapstick background score only makes it worse.
• This story unfolds in the 80s and 90s, not the 50s and 60s. The costume design feels oddly dated, as though the period itself wasn’t trusted enough to speak.

Sorry, Mr. Hirani. I had to point these out.

So Why Does It Still Work?

Despite these shortcomings, I will still label Sanju a good film — just not a brilliant one.

At a broad level, it’s a classic fighting-all-odds story, and those are inherently inspirational. Indian cinema thrives on redemption arcs, and this one is tailor-made for audience empathy.

At a more personal level, each one of us connects with Sanjay Dutt differently.

For a teenager, it’s Munnabhai. For the twenty-somethings, it’s Vaastav. Rewind further and you hit Khalnayak, Saajan, Rocky.

We all “know” this bloke — or think we do. Naturally, we want to know what really happened. That curiosity alone hooks the audience.

The Emotional Formula

On another plane, the film tugs at two deeply effective emotional threads: the father-son relationship, and the unwavering loyalty of a friend.

That’s the formula. And it’s a winning one.

But formulas also simplify. And simplification is where Sanju begins to feel safe instead of searching.

The Final Question

I often wonder how someone with no prior emotional relationship to Sanjay Dutt would react to this film.

Someone who hasn’t grown up watching his films. Someone without nostalgia. Someone without context.

Know anyone like that?

That, perhaps, is the real test of this movie.