Sanjay Dutt: “I Can’t Do What Ayushamnn Khurrana & Kartik Aaryan Do Today”

Sanjay Dutt can rightly so be called Bollywood’s original bad-boy! With films like Vaastav, Sadak, Munnabhai MBBS and Saajan to his credit, Sanjay Dutt has carved a space for himself in the industry that is not easily replaceable. But yet, despite his not so successful second innings in Bollywood with films like Kalank and Prassthanam, Sanjay Dutt is getting offers for quirky and content-driven parts.

As Sanjay Dutt gears up to mesmerize us all as the evil Ahmed Shah Abdali in Ashutosh Gowariker’s war period drama Panipat alongside Arjun Kapoor and Kriti Sanon, the actor says he realizes that he certainly can’t be the hero of a film the way he was 20 years ago.

Opening up about wanting to still be the center character of any film but in a mature and different way, Sanju baba has been quoted by TOI saying, “People are approaching me with challenging characters, but it’s a conscious effort on my part to tap that space. I definitely cannot be in the zone that I was in 20 years ago. I want to do good work, the way actors after a certain age do in America. Look at Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner or Robert De Niro. They have been unbelievably good at every age. I wanted to move on, too, and I am happy that it has also worked for my audience. You have to come to terms with the fact that you’re older, and you have to take that leap of faith. I did and it got me into a better zone as an actor. I can’t do what Kartik Aaryan and Ayushmann Khurrana are doing today. They’re the heroes of this generation, who can do all the romance and singing.”

Speaking about returning with Sadak 2, Sanjay Dutt said, “While I can no longer be the typical ‘hero’, I can be the kind of hero Denzel Washington plays in his films. He’s older, but the film revolves around him. I don’t write stories, but I do suggest things that I’d like to work on. Like the space of a mature action hero always interests me. Of course, that is not something that has found complete acceptance here right now; but we are getting there. Sadak 2 is an example of that.”

On the professional front, Sanjay Dutt has an interesting line up of films with Sadak 2, K.G.F Chapter 2, Shamshera and Bhuj: The Pride Of India to look forward to.

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