The experience of playing Maanyata Dutt in Sanju was surreal, says Dia Mirza

Sanju (2018), starring Ranbir Kapoor, was the first biopic Dia Mirza acted in. She played actor Sanjay Dutt’s wife Maanyata in the Rajkumar Hirani film. On the second anniversary of the film’s release, the actress remembered getting into character for the role and how she was determined to get it just right.

"Having worked with Raju sir before, the comfort level was already established,” she recalled. “This significantly helped me imbibe the character he had written with Abhijat Joshi [the scriptwriter], which truly did justice to the strong presence Maanyata had in Sanjay sir's life. For me, it was an opportunity to empathize with everything she had experienced in her life, and I hope I did justice to the role.”

While she had worked with Hirani on Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Mirza was working with Ranbir Kapoor for the first time. But, luckily, she had worked with Dutt, on whose life the film is based, in films like Parineeta (2005), Dus (2005), Shootout At Lokhandwala (2007), Dus Kahaniyaan (2007) and the aforementioned Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Playing Maanyata brought her full circle in her career.

“The entire experience at the time was surreal,” she stated. “Sanjay sir was always wonderful to me through all our projects together. I owe him some of the most special films in my life, Sanju being one of them.

"Working on a biopic like Sanju two years ago has shaped so much of my present life. I'm grateful to each person in that team and for all the encouragement I received while preparing for the role. I hope for many more such experiences as an actor and as a producer,” the actress added.

Sanju also starred Paresh Rawal as Sunil Dutt and Manisha Koirala as Nargis, along with Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Anushka Sharma and Vicky Kaushal. The film followed Sanjay’s journey as a star kid, his numerous love affairs, his battle with drug addiction, and his eventual imprisonment due to his connection with those involved in the 1993 Mumbai blasts.