With three-dimensional motion pictures, Sanjay Dutt hopes to reintroduce heroism to Bollywood

Sanjay Dutt (the Munna Bhai series, “Vaastav,” “Khal Nayak”) is creating his own production business, Three Dimension Motion Pictures, with the goal of reviving Bollywood’s golden era of heroics.

As instances of the disappearing larger-than-life heroics in Bollywood, Dutt mentions the recent pan-India box office success of South Indian film “Pushpa” and the films of “Baahubali” filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli.

“We’re attempting to recapture what we had, what South Indian cinema are doing now,” Dutt tells Variety. “When we first started out in the film industry, we were all about heroics, heroic characters, mass love, and everything, and I simply watched everything cease.” And I’m attempting to resurrect it.”

Dutt, the 62-year-old son of acclaimed actors turned politicians Sunil and Nargis Dutt, made his film debut in 1981 with “Rocky,” at an era when mainstream Indian cinema’s leading males were scripted as a full heroic package. In today’s Bollywood, that genre has been reduced to a niche, or as Dutt calls it, a “small gap.”

“I think there’s a tiny gap here between what Denzel Washington, Kevin Costner, and Mel Gibson are doing in Hollywood and what we’re doing here.” “I’m trying to close that gap, of a hero of that age who can perform, fight, and stand up for his rights,” Dutt adds.

“The golden age is unstoppable. Even in Hollywood, as well as in the South, you may find it. What happened to Bollywood, I’m not sure? But that’s exactly what we’re aiming for — those heroic days,” Dutt says.

Three Dimension is putting up a slate of films, including the horror comedy “The Virgin Tree,” directed by Sidhaant Sachdev, who has worked on TV, music videos, and assisting and will be making his feature debut, with a cast of four novices. In May, principal photography will begin.

The remainder of the slate is not titled yet, but includes a family drama, some action pictures with younger actors and some more action flicks with a senior guy as hero.

The suits, according to Dutt, are too responsible for the disappearance of Bollywood heroics. “I believe that the entire corporate system coming into Bollywood and invading on our territory has wrecked everything.” “Those men sitting at the table and paying the money have no right to meddle with the director’s creativity, or with the performers, or to provide their thoughts about material or a script when [they] have no clue about it, when it’s not their business,” Dutt argues.