Kaante director Sanjay Gupta remembers going to Amitabh Bachchan’s Jalsa for narration; ‘By the time you get to the second floor, you look very small’

Amitabh Bachchan is one of the most acclaimed actors in the film industry and fans are always curious to know more about him. Recently, filmmaker Sanjay Gupta talked about his unforgettable experience of narrating a script to Big B at his residence and how he was mesmerized by its grandeur and made him and his house feel small.

Speaking on the podcast Timeout with Ankit, Sanjay Gupta recalled working on his 2002 film Kaante and revealed that he had planned to cast new actors along with Naseeruddin Shah for the film. But, when he discussed his idea with Sanjay Dutt, Sanjay showed interest in being a part of it and suggested the filmmaker to cast Amitabh Bachchan for another role. As a result, Dutt fixed a meeting between the legendary actor and Gupta.

Sanjay shared, “I went to their premises and stepped on the stairs, and I saw black and white photographs of Amitabh Bachchan from his films, shoots etc. So when you reach the second floor, you look very young. ” He was surprised to meet the megastar.

The director shared that he was soon taken to a furnished room and offered refreshments. When the Piku actor arrived, he took Gupta to another room where he saw expensive items like speakers and gramophones worth Rs. A mug filled with Rs 50-60 lakh and 25-30 Mont Blanc designer pens on the megastar’s table.

Although Sanjay Gupta was nervous, he started narrating and was nervous for a few seconds until Big B reacted. Seeing the significance of the occasion, Gupta planned in his mind that one day, he would narrate this experience to his grandchildren.

He said, “The statement was over in 30 minutes and what followed was the scariest 20-25 seconds of my life. There was no reaction and my heart was beating very fast, then I asked him what he thought, and He said he liked it.”

The Mumbai Saga director was relieved and started his collaboration with Big B. Meanwhile, Kaante was a heist drama starring Sanjay Dutt, Mahesh Manjrekar, Suniel Shetty, Lucky Ali and Kumar Gaurav in pivotal roles.