Sanjay Dutt says he was concerned about hitting Ranbir Kapoor in Shamshera, told director ‘isko lag na jaaye’

After playing Sanjay Dutt in his biopic, Ranbir Kapoor is all set to fight the actor in their upcoming film Shamshera.

The period action drama stars Ranbir both as father and son in the first double role of his career. He plays the protagonists, who fight for their tribe, while Sanjay plays the antagonist– a ruthless cop named Shuddh Singh.

In a newly-released behind-the-scenes making video from Shamshera, Ranbir Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt discussed how difficult it was for them to fight each other in action scenes since they share a completely different equation in real life. Director Karan Malhotra also shared that the duo used to get concerned about the fight scenes.

Karan Malhotra described Sanjay’s Shuddh Singh in Shamshera as the ‘giant of negativity,’ and Ranbir’s Balli as the ‘tiny, crazy, monstrous spark of hope.’ The filmmaker shared that Sanjay used to be more ‘cautious’ while dealing with Ranbir in action scenes, because he treats the actor like his son.

Karan said, “He would keep saying, ‘beta ye karunga to isko lag na jaaye (He might get hurt if I do this).'” Karan added that even Ranbir used to be apprehensive about the action scenes, and would tell him, “Wo Sanjay Dutt hain yaar, kaise karunga mai (he is Sanjay Dutt, how will I do this?)’.” A BTS clip showed Ranbir asking Sanjay if he was okay after they shot a scene together.

Sanjay admitted that he used to face this hesitation, and explained, “I had a relationship with Ranbir when he was a very small child and he was growing up. Even for me to fight with him, I used to get very concerned.”

Ranbir shared that despite Sanjay’s concerns, this has been the most beating he has gotten in his life. He said, “I have grown up at the age of 9 and 10 with a Sanjay Dutt poster in my cupboard, then getting to play him in a biopic, and finally for him to be the merciless menace– Shuddh Singh. What he was on camera was so ruthless, I have never gotten hit so much in my life.”

The actor added, “It’s amazing that he is my antagonist! He hits me and I have to hit him on screen. Because that’s not what I feel for him. I see Sanjay Dutt, the kind of personality and aura he has, you just want to hug him and talk to him.”

Set in the fictitious city of Kaza in the 1800s, Shamshera also stars Vaani Kapoor. The Aditya Chopra production features Ashutosh Rana, Saurabh Shukla, Ronit Roy, Tridha Choudhury, and Pitobash Tripathy as well. It is slated for theatrical release on July 22 in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu languages.