Sanjay Dutt vows to fulfil Sanjay Gupta’s dream of making Kaante 2 after the filmmaker’s death

Dubai: Bollywood Actor Sanjay Dutt has paid an emotional tribute to filmmaker Sanjay Gupta, remembering their decades-long friendship and promising to complete the director's dream project, Kaante 2, following his death.

Taking to Instagram, Dutt shared a series of photographs with Gupta, expressing disbelief over the sudden loss of someone he described as a brother and family.

"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 wrote.

Dutt also said they had recently been discussing a sequel to their 2002 crime drama Kaante. He promised to take the project forward in his friend's memory.

"We were just discussing Kaante 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," he added.

Gupta died on October 30 after suffering a head injury in a fall at his Mumbai residence. He was known for directing films including Kaante, Shootout at Lokhandwala, Zinda and Kaabil.

Gupta and Dutt shared a professional association that began with Aatish: Feel the Fire (1994), the filmmaker's directorial debut. They subsequently worked together on several films, including Jung, Khauff, Kaante and Musafir.

However, their friendship suffered a major setback around 2007, during the making of Shootout at Lokhandwala. In a 2013 interview with The Times of India, Gupta recalled that the two had not spoken for several years.

The fallout also affected his career. Gupta said people in the industry were reluctant to work with him, forcing him to sell his Goa property to repay loans. He eventually found an opportunity to revive his career with Shootout at Wadala.

The two filmmakers eventually reconciled at Amitabh Bachchan's 70th birthday celebration in 2012.

Despite their differences, Gupta and Dutt remained in touch and discussed another collaboration.

In an earlier interview, Gupta revealed that he had developed the basic story for Kaante 2 and was preparing to begin writing it. His wish list included Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Manoj Bajpayee, Jaideep Ahlawat, Vijay Varma and Ali Fazal.

The original Kaante, released in 2002, featured Dutt alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Suniel Shetty, Mahesh Manjrekar, Lucky Ali and Kumar Gaurav.

With Dutt now pledging to fulfil his friend's vision, the proposed sequel has taken on a deeply personal significance.