'I wonder what Zaibunissa Kazi would feel if she saw the trailer for Sanju.'
'An effort that proves movies are made about celebrities who get away after committing a crime while poor souls like Zaibunissa rot all their lives in prison only for knowing a star like Sanjay Dutt,' says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
As a reporter, I covered Sanjay Dutt's conviction in the TADA court. Which is why, when I saw reports of a movie being made on the movie star, it left me with many questions.
The biggest one being why on earth was such a movie being made?
The answer, according to the trailer for Sanju, which released on Wednesday is: Sanjay Dutt was never a terrorist.
Yes, we know that.
It's what the court said.
It was what Sanjay Dutt specifically mentioned -- that he was convicted under the Arms Act and not the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act -- at his first press conference after he was released from the Yerawada Central Jail in Pune after he had served his sentence.
Yet, it's what Rajkumar Hirani's trailer chooses to highlight.
Let's look at what else the trailer does.
Manisha Koirala, as Nargis Dutt, and Dia Mirza, as Maanayata Dutt, have a blink-and-miss appearance in the trailer.
Anushka Sharma, who plays a reporter, and Sonam Kapoor -- who, according to various reports, either plays Tina Munim or an amalgamation of Sanju's various girlfriends -- get a slightly more memorable presence.
Vicky Kaushal, who plays his best buddy -- going by that heavy Gujju accent, it's clearly not Kumar Gaurav, as speculated -- get to showcase both his comic and serious nature.
Going by the trailer, Paresh Rawal appears to be miscast as Sunil Dutt and his effort to fit into those massive shoes seems doomed to failure.
What the trailer does, though, is prove Ranbir Kapoor's acting chops. Clearly, the lad leads the pack when it comes to his generation.
Overall, the trailer makes for a good watch and seems to herald an excellent run for the movie at the box office.
Now, let's get real and let's take Rajkumar Hirani back to a very crucial year, 2006, which is completely missing from the trailer.
Let's return to that day in 2006 when Judge P D Kode of the TADA court declared 70-year-old Zaibunnisa Kazi a terrorist.
She glared at Sanjay Dutt, who looked right through her.
It was a tense moment as it was Kazi's home that gangster Abu Salem had kept the AK-56 before delivering it to Sanjay Dutt.
Kazi's crime? She knew Salem as a real estate agent and kept the AK-56 thinking it was a parcel he wanted to deliver to Sanjay Dutt's home.
Her only involvement in the 1993 Mumbai serial blast case, which was masterminded by the terrorist, Tiger Memon, was unknowingly keeping the AK-56 at her home.
This AK-56 made a 70-year-old woman a terrorist while a Bollywood star was deemed a convict under the Arms Act.
I wonder what Zaibunissa Kazi would feel if she saw the trailer for Sanju, an effort that proves movies are made about celebrities who get away after committing a crime while poor souls like her rot all their lives in prison only for knowing a star like Sanjay Dutt.
But then, who really cares for a Zaibunnisa?
This is India. We live for 'entertainment, entertainment, entertainment' and the Sanju trailer is certainly entertaining.
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