Mahesh Manjrekar says Sanju left him disappointed, would’ve liked different approach

Mahesh Manjrekar, who appeared in a cameo in Sanju and has directed Sanjay Dutt in several films, has said that the biopic left him disappointed.

Actor and filmmaker Mahesh Majrekar, who appeared in a cameo in the Sanjay Dutt biopic, Sanju, has said that he was left wanting more after watching the film. In an interview to Mirror, the Selection Day actor said that while Sanju succeeded as a commercial film, it ‘disappointed’ him as a biopic.

Mahesh Manjrekar in a still from Sanju.

“I have seen Sanju, and it is a well-made commercial film. However it left a lot unexplored. I would have directed it with a different approach,” Mahesh said. He praised director Rajkumar Hirani’s success, saying that Hirani must have succeeded at what he set out to do, considering the film’s close to Rs 600 crore worldwide box office haul.

 

“Hirani was on a journey to make a commercial film, and the numbers suggest that he has succeeded in doing so. As a film, I enjoyed it, but as a biopic I was a little disappointed,” Mahesh said.

The Bollywood veteran plays himself in a cameo in the film, which starred Ranbir Kapoor as Sanjay Dutt. The film was criticised in certain quarters for whitewashing many controversial aspects of Dutt’s life, such as his struggles with drug addiction and his many brushes with the law.

Film critic Raja Sen wrote for Hindustan Times, “Sanju deserves not just cynicism but scorn. It is an utterly dishonest film, one trying to make its severely flawed protagonist seem like an essentially nice guy who fell into bad company because of enablers.”

Mahesh has directed Dutt in several films, such as Vaastav: The Reality, Nidaan, Kurukshetra, Pitaah, Hathyar and others.

The film was recently in the news once again when Hirani was accused of sexual harassment by a crew member, while they were working on the film. He has denied all accusations.

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