Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; May 8, 2017)

Paparazzi shots of Ranbir Kapoor from the set of Sanjay Dutt’s biopic took social media by storm last month. The young star was a splitting image of the ’90s superstar, a testimony to the efforts that he’s putting in to look the part.

It couldn’t have been easy for Ranbir to slip into Dutt’s shoes, given that the two hardly have anything in common in terms of physicality or mannerisms. Apart from inputs from the man himself, Ranbir is taking help from top stand-up comic and internet sensation Dr Sanket Bhosale, who is known to effortlessly mimic several Bollywood stars including Dutt, Salman Khan, Farhan Akhtar and Sonu Nigam.

Speaking to mid-day, Sanket reveals, “I first met Ranbir about four months ago. Initially, he was shocked to know that I was a doctor. We sat for almost three hours at a suburban hotel and only discussed Sanju sir. He was fascinated by my videos and asked me how I could imitate him [Dutt] so easily.”

The 28-year-old adds that Ranbir asked a lot of questions about Dutt. “Sanju sir has a peculiar style of walking and talking, and Ranbir wanted to learn everything. He was impressed with the way I impersonate Sanju sir rolling his eyes while talking; he wanted to learn that too. I have heard that Ranbir still refers to my online videos.”

Sanket says he admires Ranbir’s humility and eagerness to learn. “He never made me feel inferior. It’s difficult to play Sanjay Dutt. I couldn’t think of anyone other than the actor himself for the film. But, I believe Ranbir is lucky [to have bagged the part]. Looking at the photographs that are coming out, I am sure he has done complete justice,” he asserts.