Summaries

Synopsis

D. N. Tripathi (Piyush Mishra), a lyricist, attempts to write a biography on Sanjay "Sanju" Dutt (Ranbir Kapoor), comparing him with Mahatma Gandhi. A flabbergasted Sanjay has him thrown out. The Bombay High Court delivers its verdict regarding the 1993 Bombay bombings and sentences Dutt to five years jail term for violating the Arms Act.

Manyata Dutt (Dia Mirza) approaches Winnie Diaz (Anushka Sharma), a London-based writer, to write Sanjay's biography and present his version of his life to the public. Although unwilling at first, Winnie is asked by Zubin Mistry (Jim Sarbh), a real estate builder to not write the biography, which intrigues her. Upon her skepticism, he asks her to float the question to Sanjay of how many women he has slept with and that the number is higher than 200. When she returns to Sanjay, he just laughs and reveals a much higher number. Winnie decides to interview him for the book, and his life is revealed in a flashback.

Sanjay's father Sunil Dutt (Paresh Rawal) plans to launch his acting career in Bollywood with the film Rocky (1981) (Sunil Dutt is the director). Upset over his father's controlling behavior on set (Doesn't allow him to smoke cigarettes), Sanjay is encouraged by his friend Zubin "God" Mistry to try drugs for the first time. He is immediately hooked, but soon discovers that his mother Nargis (Manisha Koirala) is suffering from pancreatic cancer and has to head to New York for treatment. This incident furthers his descent into alcoholism and drug addiction.

He meets Kamlesh / Kamli (Vicky Kaushal), a fan of Nargis, in New York, and they become quick friends. Kamlesh prays for Nargis's quick recovery & wins over Sanju. Kamlesh manages to make Sanjay stay his addiction. Nargis recovers and the family returns to Mumbai.

After learning that his girlfriend Ruby (Sonam Kapoor) has been arranged to marry someone else due to his drug addiction, Sanjay relapses. Kamli convinces Ruby to register to marry Sanjay, assuring her that he is clean and ready to spend the rest of his life with her; after realizing her love for Sanjay, she comes to the registration office but does not find Sanjay there. Upon reaching his house, she sees him still using drugs and decides to leave him.

Nargis passes away three days before the release of Rocky, which takes an emotional toll on Sanjay. Sanjay agrees to attend a rehabilitation center in the United States, and eventually recovers with the help of his father and Kamlesh. On returning to India, he finds Zubin at his door welcoming him home with more drugs and reveals to Zubin that he figured out how Zubin was peddling him drugs while consuming glucose himself. He beats Zubin and throws him out.

Back to the present, Sanjay's later life is narrated by the now-estranged Kamli, now a millionaire, who is tracked down by Winnie in New York. He is reluctant at first since he has wasted many years of his life on Sanjay but finally agrees to tell her the story.

In the 1990s, Sanjay turns to bodybuilding and his career in Bollywood has greatly improved. He betrays Kamli by having sex with his Gujarati girlfriend Pinky (Karishma Tanna) but later the matter is solved when Kamli gets to know that Pinky only wanted him for his wealth.

After the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, Sanjay acquires three AK-56 rifles to ensure the protection of his father, Sunil, who had become a member of the Lok Sabha had received multiple threatening phone calls, and sister, Priya Dutt (Aditi Gautam).

He and his family had been receiving death threats for Sunil's work on helping Muslims during the riots, right after the Babri Masjid demolition. A series of bombings occur in Bombay shortly thereafter. For possession of illegal arms supplied by the D-Company supposedly to be trafficked for protection during potential communal rioting after the bombings, Sanjay is arrested in 1993, convicted and sentenced for five years under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), threatening his career.

Further tarnishing his public image, the media labels him a terrorist.

Sunil Dutt fights the case in SC and gets bail for Sanju after 452 days. He approaches a lot of politicians, but no one wants to get involved with TADA. One day, Kamli reads a newspaper headline saying "RDX Truck at Dutt House". Believing Sanjay to be guilty, Kamli severs ties with him. Winnie ends up dropping the book as well due to her complicated feelings on the subject matter.

Sanjay is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for five years under Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), threatening his career.

After his release in 1995, Sanjay appears in a string of flops. When his popularity had begun to wane, he is signed for the title role in Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003), co-starring his father (Sunil recommends the script to Sanju and thinks working together will help discipline him). Sanjay's performance garners him the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role and his public image improves, making his father proud. Shortly afterwards, his father passes away.

In 2006, the Bombay High Court finds Dutt guilty under the Possession of Arms Act, while not finding him to be a terrorist.

In 2013, he is arrested again by the same verdict upheld by the Supreme Court of India. With Manyata's help, Sanjay convinces Winnie and Kamlesh of his innocence by blaming the media for falsely accusing him of terrorism (he argues that the RDX truck that media accuses him of, was never ever parked at his house. Even his charge-sheet and conviction did not mention anything about RDX) and is subsequently released from prison in 2016. Sanjay finds out that Winnie has completed writing his biography, titled Kuch Toh Log Kahenge (translation: People will keep saying something), named after one of his father's favorite songs.

He reunites with Kamli and Manyata and tells his children not to be like him but like his father Sunil.