Sanju actor Paresh Rawal on playing Sunil Dutt: It was challenging yet satisfying

In an exclusive chat with indianexpress.com, Rawal began by sharing why it was indeed a challenge to do the part. “It was difficult to portray Dutt Sahab (Sunil Dutt) because he did not have any distinct mannerism, except his goodness, his nobility, his compassion for others, and to show that on screen, any actor would have to do a lot of soul-searching to portray that. So it was very challenging and very satisfying as well,” he said.

Sanju movie also has Manisha Koirala playing Nargis.

Sanju traces the life of Sanjay Dutt from being a star kid to his numerous affairs, relationship with his father, struggle with drugs, involvement in the 1993 Mumbai blasts and his jail term. The biopic has been directed by Rajkumar Hirani and has Ranbir playing the lead role.

Rawal shared things that he discovered about the Dutts while doing Sanju.

Sanjay Dutt with his father Sunil Dutt. (Express Archive Photo)

Paresh Rawal on Sunil Dutt

“See, Sanjay Dutt’s life was completely open in the public domain. But yes, the struggle between him and his father, those things I found out and what all Dutt Sahab had to endure – your wife is on death bed and your son is walking towards death and he has to take care of them, take care of himself and his entire family. Only a good man who is truly strong from inside can handle all this. Anybody else would have just died,” the actor shared.

“He had political struggles, faced problems for his political views. To cope with all this and still maintain his dignity and humanity, all those had to be shown. And then you get a director like Rajkumar Hirani, an amazing script and you get to work with a powerhouse like Ranbir Kapoor, then your work becomes very easy,” Rawal added.

Paresh Rawal and Rajkumar Hirani on the sets of Sanju.

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While Rawal is a BJP member, late Sunil Dutt was a Congress supporter. So, did Rawal ever, while doing Sanju, face any clash of ideologies with his onscreen role? “Never! I look up to him. When I was not even in politics, I used to look up to him. He was such a noble man. He never harmed anyone in his life. And that man had to endure a test by fire. When such a man goes through so much, your belief in God shakes a bit,” he said.

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Sanju also stars Manisha Koirala, Dia Mirza, Anushka Sharma, Vicky Kaushal and Sonam Kapoor among others. It releases on June 29.