Rajkumar Hirani Explains What Made Sanju Possible and His Approach to Biopics

Rajkumar Hirani Opens Up on Biographical Filmmaking After Sanju

Years after the release of Sanju, director Rajkumar Hirani has explained his preference for personal struggles, mistakes, and contradictions over conventional success stories when selecting subjects for biographical films.

Released in 2018 and directed by Hirani, Sanju starred Ranbir Kapoor as Sanjay Dutt, alongside Paresh Rawal, Vicky Kaushal, Anushka Sharma, and Manisha Koirala. The movie explored addiction, media scrutiny, personal mistakes, and relationships, achieving commercial success.

Following the film, Hirani received multiple offers to direct biopics on other real-life figures. Explaining his creative approach, Hirani stated that a compelling biographical journey requires major ups and downs, failures, contradictions, and difficult choices, rather than a simple success story.

Highlighting what made Sanju possible, Hirani shared, “Sanjay gave me access to the parts of his life that were not flattering. He was willing to lay himself bare - the good, the bad, the embarrassing, and the painful. That gave us a human being, not just a famous person's success story.”

Hirani continues to search for subjects offering emotional depth and complexity, noting that his next choice will depend on finding a story that presents a personal account beyond public achievements.