The much-awaited Sanjay Dutt biopic’s first teaser has been released today and have to say, it seems like the wait was worth it.
Sanju, as it has been titled, directed by Rajkumar Hirani, produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and starring Ranbir Kapoor in the title character has been one of the most anticipated movies ever since news of its conception was announced.
A biographical drama, the movie is said to journey through the various stages of Dutt’s life and will be hitting theatres in June 2018.
The film also boasts of a pretty strong supporting cast made of Sonam Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Vicky Kaushal, Manisha Koirala and more.
With the teaser standing at a short 1 minute and 25 seconds, you are taken on a whirlwind run through of the major events in Sanjay Dutt’s life such as him starting drugs at age of 22, going to jail, Bollywood lifestyle, and also having 308 girlfriends as stated in the video.
But there were some things in it that struck me about not only this video but the film too.
Let us take a look at my reaction to the Sanju teaser:
1. The Teaser Concept is Really Good
Let me start by recounting the good part of the teaser and that would be the concept. The panning of the camera from one phase of Dutt to another was a good reminder to what all the real-life actor has gone through and what we can expect from the film.
The colours were bright and vibrant which lent a nice happy feel to it but was contrasted nicely with some of the slightly gloomy shots of Ranbir Kapoor as Dutt in a jail cell.
It was certainly quite interactive with Ranbir Kapoor’s Sanjay Dutt breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to the audience.
2. The Use of CGI and Special Effects Was Good
The use of CGI and special effects was interesting to see as it almost makes out the film to be slightly kiddish in feel and naïve in its innocence. But I believe the actual film will be darker than thought as seen in the last few shots of the teaser.
It certainly captured the essence of Dutt who has both dark and light elements in him.
3. Ranbir Was Not The Right Fit
As much as I liked the concept of the teaser, unfortunately though, my concern over Ranbir’s casting as Sanjay Dutt were proven right.
No doubt that Ranbir is a great actor, however, he absolutely does not look like Sanjay Dutt at all.
The only reason, according to me, he resembled Dutt greatly in the teaser was due to the excessive use of special effects to make him look like him and Kapoor walking with a hunched back.
And perhaps it is easy to do for a 1-minute teaser, but I’m afraid it might get a bit too much in a full-length feature film.
Also, it almost felt like he was switching in between an average impersonation of Dutt to his normal voice without realizing it.
I would have honestly preferred if they had taken a new actor who not only closely resembled Dutt physically but could also give the actor a fresh spin.
4. Ranbir Taking Over Sanjay
Another thing I noticed was that Sanjay Dutt, the person about whom the film is actually made on has become lost in the glory of Ranbir’s acting.
The whole focus has shifted to Kapoor’s acting skills and how brilliantly he is portraying Dutt instead of talking about the man himself and his life.
People and even media are focusing more on how much Ranbir is looking like Dutt rather than taking a look at the various incidents of his life and focusing on the actual person the movie is made on.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: YouTube, The Indian Express, NDTV
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