Sanjay Gupta, the director behind Kaante and Shootout at Lokhandwala, died on Saturday at the age of 59. Police said he was found at his Versova home after an apparent fall late on Friday night and had suffered a severe head injury; his family found him the next morning and took him to hospital, where he was declared dead.
Gupta’s best-known films gave Mumbai’s underworld a stylised, ensemble-driven treatment. That is the public image most fans know; the final interview gives the private one.
A final interview, released weeks earlier
A month before his death, Gupta recorded a conversation on the Hussain Zaidi Files podcast. It turned out to be his last interview. Instead of only discussing his gangster dramas, he opened up about his marriage to Anuradha Gupta.
Gupta said the two separated after seven years of marriage and eventually filed for divorce. They then spent another seven years apart. But when he described the separation, it sounded less like a clean break and more like a marriage put on pause.
Pets, parents and Diwali kept them close
He was candid that he had other relationships during the years apart. Yet the couple kept crossing paths because their two pets lived with him, and Anuradha would visit once or twice a week to see them. Those animal visits also meant the two of them kept meeting.
The wider families pulled them back too:
- Anuradha stayed attached to Gupta’s mother, who lived separately.
- He remained close to her family.
- Birthdays, weddings and Diwali were still celebrated together.
The second proposal
“I separated from her, but I never fell out of love with her.”
Gupta said he eventually realised that neither of them had moved on. He went to Anuradha and asked, in his telling, what the point was of living that way, before suggesting they give themselves another shot. She said yes, and he called himself lucky.
They reunited and stayed together until his death. The couple had two children: son Shivaansh Gupta and daughter Dalai Gupta.
What this tells fans
Gupta’s reputation rests on stylised gangster films built around groups of men, sharp dialogue and betrayal. The final interview adds a softer layer: the director who understood on-screen loyalty also returned to his first marriage after seven years apart and credited the everyday pull of pets and family.
For viewers, the simplest tribute is a rewatch. Kaante and Shootout at Lokhandwala remain the titles most associated with his name.
Source: Hindustan Times