Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta, known for Mumbai underworld dramas, passes away

Bollywood director and producer Sanjay Gupta, who is known for films like Shootout at Lokhandwala, Zinda and Kaante has passed away, ANI reported citing filmmaker Ashoke Pandit.

Gupta began his bollywood journey with Sanjay Dutt-starrer, Aatish: Feel the Fire, and went on to make films like Khauff and Jung. Sanjay Dutt starred in both the movies. His major directorial success was Kaante, a multi-star cast led heist film where a group of six Indian men team up to carry out a bank heist in the United States.

The movie had received critical acclaim when released and was reported to have taken inspiration from Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs as well as Ringo Lam's City on Fire. The latter also was the source of inspiration for Tarantino's film.


Gupta went on to make a number of films on the Mumbai underworld. Musafir, Shootout at Lokhandwala and Shootout at Wadala were a trio of movies that established Gupta as a master of the craft. He also directed Kaabil, where Hrithik Roshan plays a blind dubbing artist who gets disillusioned once his wife passes away.

Gupta also directed Zinda, a film starring Sanjay Dutt, John Abraham and Lara Dutt where a man is jailed for years but does not know who his captor is. Zinda was identified as an unofficial remake of South Korean filmmaker Park-Chak Woon's legendary film, Oldboy.

Gupta's last film was released in 2024, named The Miranda Brothers, starring Harshvardhan Rane and Meezan Jafri.