Rajkumar Hirani clarifies he made Sanju not to "whitewash" Sanjay Dutt's image but because he found the story compelling. He denies being Dutt’s close friend or needing work, citing thorough research.
Last Updated: 02.51 PM, Feb 03, 2025
Sanju, Rajkumar Hirani's biopic on Sanjay Dutt, recently had the filmmaker shed light on the inspiration for the project. The claims that he "whitewashed" the actor's reputation with the film prompted him to respond. The actor received a five-year prison term due to presumed involvement in the 1993 Mumbai terrorist bombings. Neither was Hirani close friends with Sanjay Dutt, and neither was he unemployed to the point where he felt compelled to produce a biography, as he said in a recent interview. He did it just for the sake of appearing "greedy" in the story.
Hirani told Komal Nahta on his YouTube channel Game Changers that he got inspiration for Sanju after hearing Dutt’s stories from him. This was his way of discussing the creation of the film in depth. He described Dutt as being out on parole and summoned him to his presence. He said, "What are you up to? Please come meet me." During this time, the actor was largely isolated and few people came to see him. Hirani wasn't really close to him, even though they worked together on two projects. The filmmaker doesn't recall ever spending an evening or sitting down with him to have meaningful discussions prior to this incident. Work was the extent of their relationship. Hirani had the impression that Dutt was ranting to him one day, though. The actor began to relate anecdotes and discuss his father, Sunil Dutt.
This continued for several more days until Dutt reached out to the filmmaker once more. Hirani realised that every one of his stories is really incredible and perhaps there is a movie. They were making Munna Bhai. The filmmaker revealed that no plans to make Sanju were in the works at the moment. They unexpectedly acquired Sanju as ready-made content. The equation between a parent and son piqued his interest and it turned into a movie after he met Dutt's loved ones.
The filmmaker also addressed accusations that the film aimed to "whitewash" the actor's image. He described an event from that session, and his first thought was, "What's wrong with him?" He claimed that he carried the weapon with him. So, they have proven that he is keeping the gun, Hirani thought. They also demonstrated how he summoned his companion to toss it into the ocean in order to demolish it. They also proved that he had a problem with drugs. They also exposed his affair with his closest friend's girlfriend. Beyond that, they proved he was a brat. To erase any trace of his blemish, what have they failed to see that the filmmaker has shown? People formed opinions about him based on what they read about him online: "No one knows him personally."
Hirani went on to say that he had no intention of filming the actor. The sole justification was that there was a tale to tell. His defense was that he wasn't a desperate director trying to whitewash someone's image because he was unemployed. Neither was he very close to him as a friend. The anecdote was all he needed to satisfy his appetite. Hirani spoke with Dutt's loved ones as well as him to get a full picture of what happened.
"Just tell me that you had kept a gun; everyone knows about it," he questioned a police officer, going so far as to speak with them and asking if anything linked the two. In their opinion, did he ever realise that about this? In that event, he will not produce the film. The cop stated that a connection did not exist; retaining the gun was foolish on his part.
There was a general belief that his house was stocked with RDX, he added, and the filmmaker also got this from a news article. Hirani heard from a lot of people in the industry who were against the film. "What is your motivation?" None of this was true and the actor did not own a truck like that, according to the records. The filmmaker perused every decision made by the highest court in the land and the subject was left unspoken.
Dutt denied ever having any such accusations levelled against him. Hirani created it because he thought it was intriguing. Nonetheless, the filmmaker got a lot of requests to film them in an effort to exonerate them after he finished his film.