Did Rajkumar Hirani defame Hindus by portraying them as mastermind behind 1993 Mumbai blasts?

Director Rajkumar Hirani's biopic Sanju, based on the life of Sanjay Dutt, has created quite a buzz not just at the box office but among the critics and fans as well. The Ranbir Kapoor-starrer has now become one of the fastest movies to cross Rs 200 crore mark at the domestic market. But it has also sparked several debates about what was portrayed in the film.

Fans and critics have pointed out that various aspects of Sanjay Dutt's life were omitted such as first wife Richa Sharma and daughter Trishala Dutt, friendship with Salman Khan, rumoured affair with Madhuri Dixit.

While many found the movie to be an attempt to clear Dutt's tarnished image, some are now of the opinion that Hirani has portrayed Hindus in a bad light by showing a Hindu goon to be the mastermind behind the 1993 Mumbai blasts.

A Quora user asked:

Why were the Hindu goons shown as the one carrying out the Mumbai 1993 blasts in the movie "Sanju", when everyone knows who the real mastermind behind them was? Is this another attempt by Rajkumar Hirani to defame the Hindus after "PK"?

To which another Quora user, who describes himself as the Editor at The Cinemaniacs, pointed out that Sanju nowhere pushes the blame on any Hindu don. He further explained why there was no mention of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Sanjay Dutt's long phone calls with Dawood's right hand Chota Shakeel in the biopic. 

He wrote:

The movie doesn't mention Dawood Ibrahim at all. Even Sanjay Dutt's long phone calls with Chota Shakeel (Dawood's right-hand man) were not included. I call this prudent, so that the wrath of underworld is avoided.

However, the movie nowhere pushes the blame on any Hindu don. The man behind the blasts was rightfully specified as Tiger Memon.

The death threats from Hindu extremists were real, which came after Sunil Dutt seemingly helped Muslims more during the Bombay Riots.

The Hindu don, played by Sayaji Shinde, came into the picture long after the blasts and Sanjay Dutt's initial release from the prison. Interestingly, during Sanju's conversation with the don, the only mention of his connection to Dubai is made.

So no, I do not think that Rajkumar Hirani tried to show Hindus in any negative light. In fact, showing that the Hindu don was amiable even after Dutt defied him on his face (quite unrealistic) puts them in positive light at best."

However, after watching Sanju, many people are of the opinion that although Hirani didn't try to filter Sanjay Dutt's wrongdoings, the former ad film director tried to paint him as innocent and held particularly the media responsible for carrying out various reports that made Dutt a villain in real life.

Do you think Rajkumar Hirani attempted to clean up Sanjay Dutt's image with Sanju? Share your views in the comments below.