Sanjay Gupta, who has been known for shooting his films really fast, is finding himself in the middle of his most gruelling shoot ever. Even as he is progressing well with yet another major schedule of his most ambitious film till date, ‘Shootout At Wadala‘, he can’t help but look at the sheer scale and magnitude that his multistarrer is boasting of today.
“In my life I have never shot a film for more than 50 days. Even ‘Kaante‘ was wrapped up in 33 days. However ‘Shootout At Wadala‘ is something else. There are more than 70 locations, as many as 67 total characters, 22 primary characters and 12 principal characters in the film. It is a big film, an epic saga. It requires around 100 days just for the shoot. We release early next year and I am sure the wait is going to be worth it,” he says.
While he is obviously happy with the way he is progressing, Sanjay also is full of gratitude for his actors who continued to stand by him as a pillar of support.
“Whether it is Anil Kapoor or John Abraham, they stood by me and said that they were doing the film regardless of when we began or who else would feature in it,” says Gupta, “None of them even discussed money with me. Now if you look at Anil, every other actor from his era has turned into a character actor today but he is still a hero. He has also made a place for himself in Hollywood. Some people say that it is luck that has made it possible but then so much can’t happen for an actor over three and a half decade just due to luck.”
He is impressed with John too and attributes his good run to the ‘positive warmth’ that be brings along with him. “It is due to energy and conviction that Anil and John bring in which keeps them ticking”, smiles Sanjay before signing off.
A co-production of Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Motion Pictures and Sanjay Gupta’s White Feather Films, ”Shootout at Wadala‘ also stars Tusshar Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut, Sonu Sood, Manoj Bajpayee, Mahesh Manjrekar, Ronit Roy and Ranjeet in key roles.