I didn’t have the confidence to play Sanjay Dutt initially, reveals Ranbir Kapoor

The keenly anticipated teaser of filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju, the biopic on film star Sanjay Dutt, has been well appreciated. During the launch of the teaser, the filmmaker revealed why he became eager to make a film on Dutt’s life.

“Whenever I go to a video library, I wonder which film to pick — action, comedy, drama, etc. When Sanju narrated his story, I felt I was sitting in a video library where a lot of films are being played. As filmmakers, we are just greedy for great content,” he said.

Sanju first look poster: Ranbir Kapoor walks in Sanjay Dutt's shoes

He added that Dutt gave complete freedom to him over his life story. “I got that content in Sanju’s story and he was brave enough to say, ‘Tell the story as you wish to.’ I think that is the primary reason why we made this film,” added Hirani.

The PK (2014) director also shared why it was challenging for Ranbir Kapoor to play the role. “He is not mimicking. It is very difficult to play this role because this is not a biopic of a person whose face isn’t known to many. There are some biopics on people you don’t know. (But) Sanju is there in your face. To play Sanju, who everybody has seen, and not (make it) look like mimicry and caricature was a great thing,” he said.

When asked about playing Dutt on screen, Kapoor said, “Personally, I have always been a Sanjay Dutt fan. So for me, it was a fan trying to play his icon on screen.”

But he also added that he wasn’t sure initially if he would pull off the challenge. “The hardest thing I had to do was give myself confidence that I can play this man. I remember when Raju sir told me about this film, I just didn’t have confidence because I felt I wouldn’t be able to do it. (I thought) I don’t have the courage, understanding and acting chops to do it. So, this wasn’t an acting cake for me,” said Kapoor.

Sanju will be released on 29 June.