Times of India gave the film four out of five stars in its review.
Critic and trade analyst Rohit Jaiswal said that the film is not a one-man show.
NDTV gave it 4 out of 5 stars.
Subhash Ghai, director of blockbuster films of yesteryears, such as Hero and Taal, said: Go and watch Sanju to experience real Sanjay Dutt on screen superbly performed by my favourite actor Ranbir Kapoor bringing the real character alive. He congratulated Rajkumar Hirani, Ranbir, Anushka and Sanjay Dutt on Twitter for making a "heart touching" film.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted that the film is going to open in over 5300 screens globally. Of these, about 4,000 are in India.