/> Sanjay Dutt has played cops many times over. But this time it's different. In Both Ram Gopal Varma's Department and Anand Kumar's Zilla Ghaziabad he plays cops based on real-life characters. In fact he's so keen on getting it right that last week he asked both the films' makers to show him rushes to see how real he looks on screen.

Dutt isn't taking any chances. He wants both the parts to look authentic. Apparently Dutt has been doing backgrounders on both the real-life cops and wants them played as differently as possible.

Says a source, "Since both the real-life cops are dead, Dutt has asked for a reality-check on their past history...pictures, documents, newspaper stories, anecdotes....

Never before has Sanjay Dutt taken such a keen interest in character detailing. He wants both the roles to be real cops and different from one another in personality and appearance. Because they're based on real characters he doesn't want to slip up in the details. "

Last week Dutt summoned the Zilla Ghaziabad producer Vinod Bachchan with rushes of the film to see how his character had shaped up.

Confirms Bachchan, "Yes, Dutt Saab asked to see his look and presence. So I made a special trailer of the film and took it to him. He will now be shooting non-stop from November 2 to 23 for my film. "

For Department, Dutt is even taking interest in the technical details. Preparing for his plunge into direction, perhaps?

Says Ram Gopal Varma, "Sanjay Dutt knows Department is a very special film for him. I've always believe he has one of the strongest screen presence. I haven't presented him in that stylish cool-dude way in Department. For the first time in his career he is playing a very realistic character. "

Though Sanjay Dutt plays a cop he isn't in uniform in Department.

Says Ramu, "Contrary to rumours Department is not about encounter killings. It's about the personal lives of the cops, how their family equation and social lives get affected by their job. My film Company was about the politics in the underworld. Department is about the politics in the police department. "