Friends gather for last rites
Abhishek Bachchan, filmmaker Rakesh Roshan, Rajpal Yadav, Rajat Bedi, Ronit Roy and Rohit Roy were among those at the crematorium, ThePrint reported. Manoj Bajpayee, Fardeen Khan, Sonu Sood, Gulshan Grover and Farah Khan visited his home to pay their respects.
The funeral pyre was lit by his son and daughter.
‘I wish I had hugged you harder’
Hrithik Roshan, who starred in Gupta’s 2017 thriller Kaabil, shared an emotional note on Instagram.
“Sanjay, I’m gonna miss you man. One film with you wasn’t enough … I will always remember our time together with so much love for you … your laughter, your passion, that child in you that lit up with every good idea, there was so much more we needed to do together man, this is way too soon,” he wrote.
“I’m gonna remember you with so much gratitude my friend, I wish I had hugged you harder and thanked you for giving me the best experience of my life with Kaabil. Nobody will fully know how much you gave that film. I’m heartbroken, this was too soon. Rest in peace my friend.”
A promise to make Kaante 2
For Sanjay Dutt, who starred in several of Gupta’s films, including Kaante, the loss was personal.
“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,” Dutt wrote on X. “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.”
A career in crime thrillers
Gupta made his directorial debut with Aatish: Feel the Fire in 1994 and became known for stylish gangster dramas and crime thrillers over a career spanning more than three decades.
His films include Jung, Kaante, Musafir, Zinda, Shootout at Wadala, Jazbaa, Kaabil and Mumbai Saga. He also produced Shootout at Lokhandwala, directed by Apoorva Lakhia, through his company White Feather Films.
He is survived by his wife, Anuradha, and their two children.