I have something of a soft spot for Indian Cinema, which is often written off as too musical or too melodramatic or otherwise not serious cinema by a Western audience. The first two complaints aren’t without some validity, Bollywood is of course renowned for both its musical numbers and dialling up the drama all the way to 10. But the idea is Bollywood isn’t serious cinema is an idea thought up by someone who has never watched a Bollywood film.
Bollywood is an example of First Cinema, a largely centralised industry that churns out high value productions in a fashion not dissimilar to Hollywood. It relies heavily on Star Power and good production values. While staying firmly rooted in tradition and values. The study of cinema isn’t worth doing without the study of Bollywood and other Indian Cinema.
Sanju (Hirani 2018) is a biopic about the actor Sanjay Dutt, a member of Bollywood royalty and a man who has been as controversial as he has been revered. My mother actually had a crush on him after watching several of his films and put a picture of him up in her apartment (It was later taken down after she moved in with my father).
I find it difficult to put this film into a category. There is a lot of jokes that could justify it as a comedy, but it there are just as many moments of drama, both courtroom and family based. Not to mention the intensive political thriller that weaves into the plot.
It follows the life of Sanjay Dutt. After the announcement of his conviction for arms possession and need to hand himself over to a prison. Attempting to repair his reputation he finds a writer for his biography. We learn about his early life and addiction to drugs which is told in equal parts comedy (The toilet seat necklace) and deeply moving drama (His begging his father to get him help after the loss of his mother).
This is what hooks the author into investigating his story and ultimately discovering that he’s a victim of political sabotage and tabloid media.
The is almost 3 hours and encompasses many unforgettable musical numbers and tells the story of Sanjay Dutt in many different genres. However what is notable is its comparison to Golden Age Bollywood films. Take for example Mother India (Khan 1957) the post-independence film that tells the story of farmers who are made victims of the local moneylender. The film while a social commentary on the evils of greed and hunger for power, it is a film about family and a mother’s determination and loyalty to her family.
Bollywood has changed significantly since then, New Bollywood films such as Sanju are about different kinds of characters, sometimes more metropolitan ones and sometimes about the diasporic populations of India. Sanju for example uses New York as a location several times and its reference to drugs, violence and sex, while not gratuitous would still set it apart from Golden Age films.
But what has remained firmly in tact in Sanju is the morality of it! Like Mother India, Sanju is a film about family, he considers suicide following his conviction because he worries his children will grow up ashamed of their father. When drugs are ruining his life its remembering his mother that helps him overcome them and when given a way out of his legal troubles, he denies the easy exit, because he refused to bring shame on his family. The film ends on the note that it is about two fathers, himself but more importantly his own.
Sanju is a film that embodies both the changing times of New Bollywood but the remaining values of Classical and Golden Hollywood, which is why it is well worth your time and an excellent starting point for a study of Indian Cinema.
T H E N A I V E F I L M M A K E R 