Raju hits back at ‘Sanju’ critics
Filmmaker refutes claims that he whitewashed the controversial actor
Whitewashing, media bashing and glorification. The makers of Sanju have been fielding allegations ever since the film on the tumultuous life of actor Sanjay Dutt hit the screens. Now, they have questions of their own.
“If I start on that, I can talk on it for the full day,” director Rajkumar Hirani said when asked to comment.
Abhijat Joshi, who has co-written the biopic with Hirani, was quick to add: “There is no media bashing at all. We are great fans of the media. What we are bashing is a certain section which sensationalises things and uses a question mark to make things ‘chatpata’ [spicy]. That has been critiqued, and I am amazed there has been no introspection on that side. No one has even said that it happens.”
The reference is in context to a scene featuring a newspaper cutting titled “RDX [compound used as an explosive] in a truck parked in Dutt house?” “Today, if the world believes that he had RDX, it’s based on that one news, so we have criticised that. But now when we are told that the whole film is about media bashing, it’s again picking up a headline,” Hirani said.
“When we show a corrupt police officer, it doesn’t mean all policemen are wrong… It’s a section,” he added.
From Dutt’s drug addiction, personal affairs, a jail term for possession of arms in connection with the 1993 serial blasts, to his bonds with his parents and friends, Sanju has delved into different aspects of the actor’s life but has also left out a lot.
Hirani, who has directed hits such as the Munna Bhai series, 3 Idiots and PK to his credit, also wonders why is there talk that he has “whitewashed” Dutt through the film.
“Whitewashing as a word is being thrown open. If you’ve watched the film, what was Sanju’s crime?” he counter-questioned.
Dutt had a gun. “Yes, he kept the gun, and we have shown that. We have shown that he served five years in jail and that he is saying it was a mistake... So where is the question of whitewashing? What have I whitewashed? I want to understand that,” Hirani asked.
Hirani went on: “People are using this word whitewash. I want to know what have I whitewashed? I have shown that he had 308 girlfriends, that he was so addicted to drugs, he slept with his friend’s girlfriend. Is this whitewashing? If we had to whitewash anyone, we would have made him Mahatma Gandhi... What have we whitewashed? Tell us his crime?”