Bollywood is shocked by the sudden demise of filmmaker Sanjay Gupta. According to reports, Sanjay was found dead at his residence in Versova, Mumbai, on Saturday morning. Police, an ambulance and a forensic team were stationed outside his house following the incident.
Several visuals from outside his residence show the filmmaker’s mortal remains being carried in a silver casket inside an ambulance. Celebrities have also arrived at his residence to pay their last respects to the filmmaker. Rohit and Ronit Roy, Milap Zaveri, Fardeen Khan, among others, were seen outside Sanjay’s residence. The visuals also showed Milap, Ronit and Rohit crying inconsolably as they paid their final respects.
Sanjay Gupta death: What happened at his Mumbai residence?
Mumbai Police said Sanjay suffered a fall at his residence late on Friday night, resulting in severe head injuries. His wife and two children found him lying in a pool of blood when they woke up in the morning. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead.
The Versova police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) in connection with the incident and are probing to ascertain the exact sequence of events. The police were informed about Sanjay’s death on Saturday morning.
“We visited the house; there are CCTV cameras in the house and separate bedrooms for each one of them. He stayed in a building at J P Road in Versova,” a police officer said.
According to the police, CCTV footage from the house showed that around 2 am, Gupta, who was sitting in the drawing room, went to the kitchen and later lost his balance and fell against the wall.
“His head hit the corner of the wall between the kitchen and the drawing room. He fell down; a dog was also seen nearby him. However, as his wife, son and daughter were asleep in their bedrooms, they didn’t come to know about it,” the police officer from Versova police station said.
The family found him lying on the ground when they woke up in the morning and rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead. He had suffered severe head injuries and was bleeding.
The body has been sent to a government hospital for a post-mortem examination. The family has spoken to the police and has expressed no suspicion against anyone.
“Also, it is clearly seen on the cameras that he lost his balance and fell,” the police officer said. A forensic team also reached the spot to investigate the incident.
Sanjay Dutt pays tribute to filmmaker Sanjay Gupta, vows to fulfil his dream of Kaante 2
Actor Sanjay Dutt has paid tribute to his late friend and filmmaker Sanjay Gupta, who died on Friday at the age of 57 after an accidental fall at his home. Sanjay took to Instagram to share old photographs with the filmmaker and remember their years of friendship.
In his Instagram post, Sanjay spoke about the bond he shared with Gupta and wrote, “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.”
The actor also revealed that he had recently been discussing a sequel to their iconic film Covers with Gupta. Sanjay Dutt said he would fulfil the filmmaker’s dream of making the sequel in his memory.
He wrote, “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, love you forever and always. Life will not be the same without you, brother. May God bless your soul .”
Sanjay Gupta shared a close friendship with Sanjay Dutt. The two first bonded on the sets of Raj Sippy’s Thanedaar (1990), where the filmmaker worked as an assistant director and the actor played the lead role. Sanjay Dutt later starred in Gupta’s directorial debut, Aatish: Feel the Fire (1994).
The two went on to collaborate on several films, including Khauff, Jung, Kaante, Musafir, Plan, Zinda and Shootout at Lokhandwala. Their professional partnership also included Dus Kahaniyaan.
However, their friendship reportedly hit a rough patch in 2007 during the making of Shootout at Lokhandwala, following disagreements. In an old interaction with The Times of India in 2013, Sanjay Gupta admitted that the two had not spoken for three years. They eventually ended their dispute at Amitabh Bachchan’s 70th birthday party in 2012.
Suniel Shetty remembers Sanjay Gupta
Actor Suniel Shetty, who worked with Sanjay Gupta on projects such as Covers and Mumbai Sagaalso remembered the filmmaker in an emotional social media post.
He wrote, “Still trying to come to terms with this news. We’ve spent so many days together, made films, shared laughs, arguments, ideas and memories that will stay with me forever. Never imagined I’d be writing something like this for you. Rest easy Sanj. You’ll be missed more than words can say.”
About Sanjay Gupta’s films
Sanjay Gupta was best known for crime thrillers such as Kaante, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty, and Zinda, which featured John Abraham alongside Sanjay Dutt. He also produced successful films such as Shootout at Lokhandwala. His 2017 film Kaabil, starring Hrithik Roshan and Yami Gautam, was among his notable commercial successes.
The filmmaker is survived by his wife, Anuradha (Anu) Lekhi Gupta, and their two children.