MUMBAI: One can remember the time ‘Khalnayak’ released and Sanjay Dutt had just been released from jail. With a similar situation this time around, and the actor behind bars, will ‘Policegiri’ be a fortune changer for the actor?
‘Khalnayak’ had a huge star-cast but what worked for the film at that time was the Sanjay Dutt factor. Movie audiences sympathized with Sanju Baba and crowded movie halls. It surged his career to a new high. Several films released, many bombed but Sanjay Dutt clearly had won over his fans.
Like two sides of a coin, Sanjay Dutt’s life was abuzz with happy-sad times. With his career at a peak, critics wondered if this is the same Sanjay Dutt, who was solely responsible for his own downswing.
Twenty years later, history is set to repeat itself. In the current set of films starring Sanjay Dutt, most have him playing supporting roles. But ‘Policegiri’, releasing on 5 July is one film which will have Sanjay Dutt in the lead. Sadly this time, the actor won’t be in person to get reactions to his film.
Businessofcinema.com spoke to producer Rahul Agarwal, who said, “Whenever I watched ‘Policegiri’ and speak about it, I was sad that ‘baba’ was not around. We miss him everyday. The entire Dutt family has been very supportive especially Manyata bhabhi who has stood by us during promotions.”
‘Policegiri’ is releasing with ‘Lootera’ and the latter has been receiving huge accolades from industry insiders. In spite of acknowledging that ‘Lootera’ is a big film, Rahul Agarwal says, “Sanjay Dutt has let out his blood and sweat for the film. What baba has done cannot be repaid in a lifetime. We hope that the film stands up to the expectations.”
Set to release in over 2000 screens over the country, ‘Policegiri’ relies on Sanjay Dutt power alone. The film, a remake of Tamil film ‘Saamy’ is being directed by K.S Ravikumar. But all eyes are on just one man – Sanjay Dutt.
Will sympathies work for the actor this time as well and result in a decent outing for ‘Policegiri’ at the box office? Only time and box-office figures will decide the fate. For now, let’s wait for Friday!
