Rajkumar Hirani taught me value of entertainment and money, says Ranbir Kapoor

Actor Ranbir Kapoor, producer-filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra and director Rajkumar Hirani unveiled the teaser of the much awaited Sanjay Dutt biopic, titled Sanju, on 24 April.

The launch was followed by a media interaction with the core team.

While Kapoor is not very conversational in public, he made sure to express his gratitude to director Hirani, writer Abhijat Joshi and the team of Sanju (2018). He also spoke on how upon reading the screeplay he realised that Dutt's life was much more complex than what he earlier thought.

The actor began by praising director Hirani, who he says taught him the value of money and the meaning of entertainment.

“Raju sir is the greatest director alive. [Thanks] just to be my friend, to understand what goodness is and to kind of teach me what entertainment means, what value of money means, what entertainment for an audience means, that kind of knowledge is most valuable knowledge I have gained [sic],” Kapoor said.

Producer Chopra had hailed Kapoor as an incredible actor, but one who made the wrong choices when it came to films. During the media interaction, Kapoor was asked whether this would change with Sanju.

"If every actor knew what he was doing and he had a plan, then he would be a superstar. I’m trying to learn from [my] own mistakes. I keep reminding myself that it is just a bend, not the end. Life is tough.

"As the title of his [Hirani's] film says Lage Raho [Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006)]. What I learnt from Raju sir is the power of entertainment. Not what is entertaining to you, but entertaining to people. When a filmmaker makes a film not for the audience but himself, that’s such a learning, it's selfless. I have been part of bad films but just the understanding of what cinema is, the value of money, I’ve now understood. I’m not saying that from hereon I will only do successful films,” Kapoor replied.

The actor admitted to being a fan of Sanjay Dutt, but says he was taken aback by the screenplay of the biopic.

“I know a different Sanjay Dutt. He is a family friend, he treats me like a younger brother. I had seen a different Sanjay Dutt, first  Khal Nayak (1993), action hero, style icon, I was familiar with this style of Dutt, but when I read the screenplay, only then did I really understand what his life journey is all about. That was shocking for me.

"How he over came his drug abuse phase, the passing of his mother two-three days before the première of his [debut] film, his controversy with terrorism, gun, relationship with his father, his best friend, the women in his life, everything was just so shocking to me. How can a man live so many lives in one life. I’m 35 today, by the time he was 18, he had lived five times the life I could ever live,” Kapoor explained.

While Kapoor's look as Dutt is being highly praised, his performance can only been seen when the film hits the screens on 29 June this year.