For a long time it was speculated that Vicky Kaushal’s character who plays Sanjay Dutt’s BFF in Sanju was inspired by his friend and brother-in-law Kumar Gaurav. However, it is now known that Vicky’s role as Kamlesh Kanhaiyalal Kapasi is actually based on Sanjay Dutt’s best friend Paresh Ghelani.
In an interview before the release of the film, Ranbir Kapoor revealed that Sanjay Dutt shared two strong bonds in his life, one with his father and the second with his friend Parya, who is the inspiration for Vicky Kaushal’s character.
Parya is actually the pet name given by Sanjay Dutt to his best friend Paresh Ghelani. Paresh had reportedly moved to Chicago in the US with his family early on in life and is currently residing in Los Angeles. Ghelani has apparently been Dutt’s thickest buddy and has stood by the actor through his best and worst. Ghelani is said to be an entrepreneur and business tycoon with companies such as Moon Express, Xprize and Radimmune under him.
Dutt has shared pictures with his good friend Ghelani on his Instagram page:
Paresh Ghelani was also in Mumbai recently for the first screening of Sanju, and had accompanied Dutt in his car for the first show.