Years after the release of Sanju, Rajkumar Hirani has explained why personal struggles, mistakes and contradictions matter more to him than conventional success stories when choosing a subject for a biographical film.
Rajkumar Hirani opens up on what made Sanju possible; says, “Sanjay Dutt gave me access to the parts of his life that were not flattering”
Released in 2018, Sanju explored different phases of Sanjay Dutt’s life, with Ranbir Kapoor portraying the actor on screen. Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, the film featured Paresh Rawal, Vicky Kaushal, Anushka Sharma and Manisha Koirala in key roles. It explored subjects such as addiction, media scrutiny, personal mistakes and relationships, and went on to achieve commercial success.
Following the film’s release, Hirani received several offers to make biopics on other real-life personalities. However, the filmmaker has taken his time to choose his next subject. Explaining his approach to biographical storytelling, he said that a person’s journey needs to go beyond achievements and include the challenges, failures and difficult decisions that shaped their life.
Talking about what draws him to a real-life story, Rajkumar Hirani shared, “After Sanju, many people reached out to me to make biopics. Most were success stories. But a simple success story doesn’t excite me that much. I need a life with major ups and downs – great achievement, but also failure, mistakes, contradictions, difficult choices, relationships, maybe even periods when the person didn’t know how their own story was going to turn out. And then there is something even more important: the person has to be willing to open the door. What made Sanju possible was that Sanjay gave me access to the parts of his life that were not flattering. He was willing to lay himself bare – the good, the bad, the embarrassing, and the painful. That gave us a human being, not just a famous person’s success story.”
Hirani’s comments highlight the importance he places on honesty and vulnerability while bringing real-life personalities to the screen. For him, a compelling biopic is not limited to celebrating a person’s achievements but also examines their mistakes, personal struggles and the experiences that shaped their journey.
With several real-life stories having come his way since Sanju, Hirani continues to look for a subject that offers the emotional depth and complexity he seeks in a biographical film. His next choice will depend on finding a life story that goes beyond public achievements and presents a more personal account of the individual behind the public image.
Also Read : Neil Bhoopalam wants to work with Rajkumar Hirani to explore family-oriented films: “It would be a good shift for me”
More Pages: Sanju Box Office Collection , Sanju Movie Review
Tags : Bollywood, Bollywood Features, Down Memory Lane, Down The Memory, Down The Memory Lane, Features, Flashback, Opens Up, Rajkumar Hirani, Sanjay Dutt, Sanju, Throwback
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