The newly released Sanju trailer is guaranteed to give you goosebumps. Ranbir Kapoor has all but gotten into the skin of Sanjay Dutt, narrating a life of hedonistic excesses with aplomb. The trailer features Vicky Kaushal as Sanjay Dutt's best friend and partner in crime, Paresh Rawal as father Sunil Dutt, and Sonam Kapoor as his love interest. In a way that deviates from the mainstream Bollywood norms, Hirani seems to have captured the darkness in Sanjay Dutt's life with a gripping honesty—the dangerous drug addiction, time in prison, and his evolution from a long haired, lopsided youngster with a goofy grin, to a bearded, hardened man often dubbed a terrorist by the tabloids. Donning short curly hair, Anushka Sharma can be seen in a different avatar in the trailer. From what can be gleaned from the trailer, the focal point of the film will be the arrest of Sanjay Dutt in the 1993 bomb blast case, its impact, and his connection with the Mumbai underworld.
Actress Dia Mirza will essay the role of his current wife Manyata Dutt. Manisha Koirala essays Sanjay Dutt’s mother Nargis. Anushka Sharma is believed to be playing the role of a journalist in Sanju. She had earlier shared a behind-the-scenes photo from the film’s sets in New York, featuring Ranbir Kapoor. According to rumours, Sonam's character could be based on Madhuri Dixit and her relationship with Sanjay Dutt, but the team has not commented on this.
Ranbir Kapoor, as Sanjay Dutt, appears in several well recognised avatars in the teasers and the posters, echoing the long-haired days of the Bollywood heartthrob to his recent appearances. From the opening shot of the teaser of Sanju, when he steps out of the jail doors, the resemblance is uncanny; Ranbir Kapoor's efforts to get into Sanjay Dutt's shoes seem to have paid off.