Mumbai: Well-known filmmaker
Sanjay Gupta (57) passed away after allegedly suffering a fall in the kitchen and hitting his head at his Andheri West residence on Friday night.
He had carved a niche in the film industry by writing, producing or directing crime thrillers like Kaante, Shootout at Lokhandwala and Shootout at Wadala.
Zonal DCP Purushottam Karad said, “Around midnight, Gupta had a fall in his house in Versova after losing his balance. He suffered a head injury and bled profusely. The filmmaker’s wife, two children and a maid live in the house. But they were all asleep as it was late in the night. The incident came to light only on Saturday morning. He was pronounced dead at Cooper Hospital. His family has not expressed any suspicion or registered a complaint. The body has been sent for an autopsy. Versova police will record an accidental death case and probe further.”
Police confirmed that Gupta had a fall in the kitchen. They said the kitchen and bedroom were on different floors. The family’s statements have been recorded by investigators.
Gupta had celebrated his 57th birthday last week on Oct 23. The filmmaker had mastered the art of quick, pacy crime thrillers and gangland flicks by combining top stars like Sanjay Dutt and Amitabh Bachchan with lavish locations and slick production values.
These movies earned him pride of place among the directors of the 1990s and 2000s.
Gupta began his career with Aatish in 1994 and went on to direct Jung, Kaante, Musafir, Zinda, Shootout at Wadala and Kaabil. Kaante, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty, catapulted him to fame. He produced and co-wrote Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007).
The filmmaker had earlier suffered a serious accident while travelling from Pune to Mumbai, but later recovered.
On Saturday, the film fraternity expressed shock at his sudden death. His constant star Sanjay Dutt posted on X: “Gupts, my brother. I still cannot believe that you are gone. We have shared so much together, so many memories and so many years of friendship. You have always been family to me, and that will never change. I will miss you, our conversations and all the times we spent together. We were just discussing Kante 2 recently, I will make Kaante 2 your dream, in memory of you my brother, I will do everything for this dream of yours to come true.”
Filmmaker Milap Zaveri said he would dedicate his next picture to Gupta. Rakesh Roshan, Rohit and Ronit Roy, Farah Khan, Fardeen Khan attended the last rites. Meanwhile, Kajol, Suniel Shetty, Raveena Tandon and John Abraham paid tribute online.
Movie critic Taran Adarsh recalled, “Met him a few days ago at Mata ki Chowki at his residence.”
Gupta is survived by his wife Anuradha (Anu Lekhi) and two sons. Anuradha was the winner of Mrs World International 2024. The couple married when she was 22, later divorced, but remarried after six years. Gupta’s 15-year-old son Shivaansh made him proud when he recently summited Kalsubai Peak, the highest mountain peak in Maharashtra.
