Making a film often required long hours behind the scenes, and Indian filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani recently shared one such memory from the shooting of Sanju. He recalled the dedication shown by actor Ranbir Kapoor during the film’s production.

Speaking to IANSHirani said Ranbir had reached the set as early as 3 a.m. whenever the shooting was scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. The Barfi actor’s transformation into Sanjay Dutt required several hours of makeup before filming could begin.

The PK director explained that the makeup process usually lasted four to five hours. Because of that, Ranbir had arrived long before the rest of the team.

Recalling those days, Hirani said, “I remember Ranbir, he used to have a beard in the movie, so it used to take him 4-5 hours for makeup. So if we had a 7 AM shift, he would come at 3 AM and sit in the Film City at night alone.”

He added, “I used to arrive at 6 AM, and there used to be a van outside, a lamp hanging outside, and inside, his makeup used to be underway. And then we would shoot with him for 12 whole hours. He never complained about it. Never, to anyone.”

During the conversation, Hirani was also asked about the ongoing discussion around actors working limited hours. He said he had not faced such issues with the actors he had worked with.

“I don’t think any actor from today’s generation says that we will work only for these many hours. They understand the importance. Toh karna hai toh khatam karna hai. They will finish it,” he said.

Released in 2018, Sanju starred Ranbir Kapoor in the lead role and was based on the life of actor Sanjay Dutt.