Ranbir Kapoor: Hope Sanjay feels I have represented him honestly

(From left) Ranbir Kapoor in Sanju; Sanjay Dutt

Ever since the teaser of Sanju was launched last month, Ranbir Kapoor found himself being lauded for his seamless transformation into Sanjay Dutt on screen. Appreciation from critics and fans aside, the actor said his muse, Sanjay Dutt's verdict, will be the true litmus test for him. Speaking at the film's trailer launch yesterday, Kapoor said, "As a child, I had a poster of Sanjay sir in my cupboard. Today, I am stepping into his shoes and playing him on the big screen. I want Sanju sir to like this film because he is a man who I have tremendous respect for. I hope he feels that I have represented his life in an honest manner."

Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, the biopic sees Kapoor sport six different looks as he traces Sanjay Dutt's journey from a 22-year-old debutant in Rocky (1981) to the incarcerated actor in his fifties. Ranbir Kapoor revealed that while Dutt's life made for a great story, it was only while enacting the role that he fully understood the struggles that the senior actor endured. "While I was performing [the scenes], I was imagining what he must have gone through in real life. Whether it was the sequence of banging my forehead against the prison bars or the instances that happened in jail, I was just enacting them. But I am sure these situations were tough for him."

Cast of Sanju at the trailer launch. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Rishi Kapoor, who had watched the trailer earlier in the week, had showered compliments on his son. Elated to have earned his father's nod of approval, Kapoor said, "Besides being my father, he is also an actor. I admire and respect his work. He never comes and tells me that I have done a good job. He won't give free compliments, and always tells us to work harder. So this really made me emotional."

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