Underworld will not be cut off from Sanjay Dutt's biopic, says Rajkumar Hirani

As a biopic on Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt gets underway, director Rajkumar Hirani says his film will delve into the controversial side of Dutt's life with respect to his alleged involvement in the underworld of India, reported The Indian Express.

He clarified that he will not be chopping out parts that have been associated with Dutt's life, positive or negative: “Everything will be part of the film. We are not cutting it.”

Although he was a bit unsure about presenting the underworld angle, Hirani said that he along with Abhijat Joshi discussed the idea with Dutt himself:

"I was skeptical initially as underworld part is not one of my favourite worlds. When Abhijat (Joshi) and I sat with Sanjay for 25 days and discovered that we want to say this story because it was a human story. It’s an emotional story which also has fun moments. It is also entertaining. It’s about father, son, his friends and his world."

He also said that the film was in no way an attempt to glorify Dutt who often gets released on parole:

“The film will not glorify him. I will never ever make a film like to glorify someone. I will make a honest film always. I have made this film as it is a great story. I am a brutal man when it comes to writing scripts. Sanjay was bold about saying things. We are not glorifying him and are saying the story as it is. I am making an honest film. Sanjay has been honest about the film."

With heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor playing the role of Dutt, Hirani said that Ranbir was a clear choice for the film: "“The (story of) Sanjay Dutt biopic is something that we did not have to start from scratch as we had a story. When we heard the story from Sanju, we felt Ranbir was the obvious choice."

With these details finalised, Hirani will start working on the film next year.

Sanjay Dutt whose role as a villain in Khalnayak, Vaastav, and more recently Agneepath shot him to fame, is currently behind bars for illegal possession of arms in the deadly 1993 Mumbai blasts and carnage.