Apart from Milan Luthria’s The Dirty Picture based on the life of Silk Smitha, Bollywood cannot boast of many biopics on film stars. This is probably why when filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani expressed his desire to convert the intriguing life story of Sanjay Dutt into a film, a lot of movie buffs were left surprised.
Bollywood Celebs at the 11th Geospa Asispa India Awards 2018
There is absolutely no denying the fact that Sanjay Dutt’s life has been a roller coaster ride.
From losing his mother at a very early age to his imprisonment, the actor went through a lot in the 57 years of his life.
Talking about the film’s cast, while Ranbir Kapoor will be seen in the titular role, a host of other talented actors like Sonam Kapoor, Dia Mirza and Manisha Koirala are also set to share screen space with him. Although actor Ranbir Kapoor has proved his mettle in a number of Bollywood offerings, the fact remains that this is the first time the actor is starring in a biopic. In fact, he has only been seen in mushy lover boy roles till now. Sanjay Dutt’s biopic would not only be a stark departure from his previous outings but he could very well redefine his place in the industry with the character.
According to reports, Ranbir worked hard to impersonate how Sanjay Dutt is in his real life.
Not only did he watch hours of footage of the actor, he even spend quality time with the actor to prepare for the role.
Apart from Ranbir, the biopic will also star actor Sonam Kapoor in the role of a Bollywood actor whom Sanjay Dutt dated back in the 1980s and 1990s. Reports suggest Sonam’s character could be loosely based on Madhuri Dixit but the makers have refused to comment about the same.
Popular TV actor Karisma Tanna was also roped in for a cameo appearance in the film.
Though the actor could not reveal anything about her role, she divulged to indianexpress.com in an earlier interview, “I am doing a guest appearance. I am sharing screen space with Ranbir Kapoor, but I am not exactly playing Sanjay Dutt’s love interest, I am one of his encounters… It’s just a cameo but I would take my role as important as it is a biopic on Sanjay Dutt, so whatever is important in his life is being shown in the film.”
Even actor Anushka Sharma was finalised to play the role of a journalist in the film.
She had earlier shared a behind-the-scenes photo from the film’s sets in New York. Masaan actor Vicky Kaushal will also make a guest appearance in the biopic.
On the other hand, actor Manisha Koirala who has herself fought against ovarian cancer seems to be the perfect choice to play Sanjay Dutt’s mother and actor Nargis in the biopic. Nargis too suffered from pancreatic cancer in the later part of her life and eventually even succumbed to it in 1981. Manisha and Sanjay Dutt have also romanced on screen in movies like Kartoos, Khauff and Yalgaar among others.
Actor Dia Mirza has also been roped in to play Sanjay’s current wife Manyata Dutt on screen.
Dia has even shared screen space with Sanjay in films like Parineeta and Lage Raho Munnabhai. For the role of Sanjay’s father, actor Paresh Rawal has been finalised by the makers. Though the film remains untitled for now, its first teaser will drop on the internet later in the day. The Sanjay Dutt biopic will hit the screens on June 29 this year.