What I take away from the film is the relationships

Written by Priyanka Sinha Jha | Updated: July 5, 2018 12:18:07 am Ranbir Kapoor in Sanju Related News

Sanju is based on Sanjay Dutts life. And you, Raju, had Ranbir play the central character. What is it about Ranbir that made you feel that hes a good fit?

Rajkumar Hirani: When the script gets done, the first thing you start thinking about is who…but in this case I didnt think of anyone, it was straight away Ranbir. If you look at Sanju in Rocky in 81, and you look at Ranbir when his first film came out, their physicality is very similiar. Both were lean, nice chikna-looking faces, and similar height. Then when you play a character, you have to understand the world, and feel that character. Both come from film families and Ranbir has known Sanju for a long time, so he was already exposed to that life.

Ranbir, was Sanjay Dutt a difficult protagonist to pull off?
Ranbir Kapoor: Yes, there was a major reason I thought it was an impossible feat. How do you already make a biopic on an actor whos still working in films? His life has been quite amazing, ek bani banayi screenplay mil gayi. I think I started believing that I can do it; then the ball just got rolling.

How did you bridge the gap between the real and reel?
Hirani: In this case, its a biopic of an actor whose face is known. The first challenge was how would Ranbir look like him, which I think, was also Ranbirs immediate fear. And I remember telling him, lets give it a shot. So we did tons of tests. And finally one day, I was standing there and Ranbir came, and I saw from a distance and I was like yeh mil gaya. And I went almost to hug him and he said just give me 30 seconds, I want to go out and breathe.

Director Rajkumar Hirani

You know Sanjay, youve worked with him. But did it feel like, I know this man but I dont really know him?
Hirani: That happened every day because when his wife Manyata first asked me, why dont you make a film on Sanjays life, my immediate reaction was thats not my territory. In my head I thought it was going to be a dark film, underworld, and drugs, and I said thats not my world at all. But as luck would have it, Sanju was out on parole and I went to meet him and in that meeting, I was very curious to figure out how he lived in jail, what he ate, what he did throughout the day. And he told me these crazy stories of how his job was to make paper bags and for every paper bag he made, he would get 25 paisa. The stories that were coming out were so unbelievable. We ended up sitting for 25 days. One day, he spoke about his drinking. He told us the single malt story, when his friend in New York took him to an exclusive single malt club. There they pour one single peg for you and ask you to sip and it and savor it, and you know, all the connoisseurs are there. So then this waiter came and asked, sir what would you like, so he said get us a bottle only yaar. So that guy looked at him and said sir we dont serve by the bottle. Then he said okay then get me 13 pegs. So these were crazy stories we were hearing.

Ranbir Kapoor

Ranbir, did you have a method which was different from the other films that youve worked on?
Kapoor: I think every film comes with its own method. What I do is I use one perfume for every character. So I went to Sanju sirs house and got his perfume, because I like getting into the character, his shoes. You know when he walks into a room its like a rockstars entry. There is a swagger about him, his gait, his long hair, that earring he used to wear with the cross, his sunglasses.

You have also spent time with him?
Kapoor: The Sanjay Dutt I knew was very different from whos in the film. He, of course, used to pick me up in the middle of the night in his Ferrari for drives. I used to work out in his gym. I remember I was working with Mr (Anurag) Basu on Barfi! and he used to come on the sets, and ask, kaisi picture kar raha hai? Barfi? Iske bad kya karega, ladoo, peda? He used to pull my leg, and always wanted me to play that larger-than-life hero. He treated me like a younger brother. So constantly, you know he is trying to really be a part of my life, really interested in the work I do, and gives me encouragement and constructive criticism.

The interview was part of the Expresso series. To watch the full interview, visit: www.indianexpress.com

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