Assistant directors used to tremble with Sanjay Dutt’s mischief on the set, reveals director Sanjay Gupta

Ranbir Kapoor starrer film ‘Sanju’, released in 2018, proved to be a blockbuster hit at the box office. However, at that time some critics had also accused this film that an attempt has been made to brighten Sanjay Dutt’s image (image makeover) by hiding the real controversies related to his life. Well, whatever the controversy, the fans accepted this film enthusiastically. But do you know how big a prankster Sanju Baba was on the sets in real life? Sanjay Gupta, director of powerful films like ‘Kaante’, ‘Musafir’ and ‘Shootout’, in a recent interview has revealed the same funny and dangerous devils of Sanjay Dutt, which often became a problem for the crew members.

Sanju Baba was like a ‘nightmare’ for assistant directors!

Director Sanjay Gupta recalled his old days of working with Sanjay Dutt in a recent podcast. He laughingly said, “Sanju’s pranks were so amazing and unexpected that working with him was no less than a nightmare for any new Assistant Director (AD). He would often do such funny things on the sets, which would fall directly on the innocent workers and assistants.”

When the inspector’s nameplate quietly disappeared on the set of ‘Thanedar’

Sanjay Gupta gave a very interesting and funny example of this habit of Sanju Baba. He told, “This incident happened during the shooting of the superhit film ‘Thanedar’ in the year 1990. Big stars like Madhuri Dixit and Jeetendra were working with Sanjay Dutt in this film. Sanjay Dutt used to come on the set, repeat his lines and start scolding his make-up man in a funny manner. After this, at the very last moment of the start of the shot, when the final touchup was going on, Sanju silently went to his police station. He used to take out the inspector’s nameplate from his uniform and hide it in his hand.”

Sanjay Dutt himself started shouting after the shot was okayed, then the secret was revealed

Taking the story further, Sanjay Gupta said, “The make-up man didn’t even have a clue and went away with his stuff. After this, the director would say ‘Action’ and the shooting of the scene would start. Sanjay Dutt is such an experienced artist that even without a nameplate, he would give an amazing shot. When the shot was completely OK and the entire team was happy and started preparing for the next scene, then only the real drama would start. Sanjay Dutt suddenly. He himself would start shouting at the director and the assistants, ‘Hey, why didn’t anyone pay attention to my uniform?’ After this he would start scolding everyone present on the set and then laugh and show the nameplate with his hand.

The film ‘Thanedar’ was a suspenseful story of two brothers.

Let us tell you that Raj N. The film ‘Thanedar’, directed by Sippy, is considered one of the best films of Sanjay Dutt’s career. In this film, Sanju Baba played the role of a brave police officer. The story of the film revolves around two brothers who get separated from each other after the death of their father in their childhood. When one brother (Sanjay Dutt) grows up, he follows his father’s footsteps and becomes a policeman, while the other brother unknowingly enters the world of crime. Years later, when the two brothers come face to face, a tremendous clash of emotions and actions is seen between them. If you want to watch this evergreen film, it is currently available to stream on the OTT platform Amazon Prime Video.