Ram Gopal Varma to tell real Sanjay Dutt story

Horrified and amused by the semi-truths of Sanjay Dutt’s image in Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju, Ram Gopal Varma who has spent considerable time with the actor when he was interrogated for his alleged hand in the 1993 Mumbai blasts, has decided to tell the real story.

While RGV chooses to remain silent for legal reasons, a source close to the filmmaker describes Hirani’s biopic as a Walt Disney version of Dutt’s life.

“It’s all pink and rosy. Whatever Sanjay wanted to tell has gone into Hiran’s film. Ramu knows the truth. He was shooting Daud with Dutt when the cops were rigorously interrogating the actor for his alleged hand in the blasts. Dutt would land-up on location quite shaken. He once confided in Ramu how he tried to call Madhuri Dixit from the police station and her father answered saying she doesn’t want to talk. Ramu wants to know how Hirani could overlook people like Madhuri, Tina Munim, Richa Sharma and Rhea Pillai who played such an important part in Dutt’s life. They will form an important part of Ramu’s narrative,” says the source.

“Hirani would like to blame Dutt’s friends for his troubles. But Ramu has spoken to senior police officers that were in charge of the case who say the friends were not responsible for his troubles. He was responsible for all the troubles in the lives of people who stood by him,” adds the source.

Coming to the contentious issue of Sanju’s best friend, the source close to the director says, “The loyal friend played by Vicky Kaushal is supposed to be based on Dutt’s Gujarati NRI friend Paresh Ghelani. However, Ramu can vouch for the fact that he was nowhere in the scene when Dutt’s trouble began. Ghelani came much later. So the film is actually distorting the truth.”

For those who think Dutt’s legal advisers will stop Ramu in his endeavour, the director is already ensconced in a safe zone.

“All the information is in the public domain. Anyone can use that information and there’s nothing Dutt can do about it,” concludes the source.

Ramu is planning to start shooting towards the end of the year with an actor, and not a star. According to sources, he intends to cast Rana Daggubatti as Sanjay Dutt. As for the title, he may call the biopic Sanju or Baba. But not Sanju Baba.