Amitabh Bachchan didn't charge money for Kaante, refused to abuse on screen, recalls Sanjay Gupta
Amitabh Bachchan did not charge money for Kaante and also refused to abuse in the film, director Sanjay Gupta has said. Kaante (2002) also stars Sanjay Dutt, Kumar Gaurav, Suniel Shetty, Lucky Ali, and Mahesh Manjrekar.
As his film Kaante completed 22 years, filmmaker Sanjay Gupta revealed how actor Amitabh Bachchan had told him that he would not abuse in the film. In a new interview, Sanjay also said that when there was some issue during the shooting of the film in Los Angeles, Amitabh was the first person to tell him that he didn't 'want any money', but the movie should be made. The director further said that Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Lucky Ali, and Mahesh Manjrekar also refused to charge for the film. (Also Read | Amitabh Bachchan writes in multiple tweets how Abhishek Bachchan stayed silent ‘amid biased criticism’)
Kaante, released in 2002, is an action thriller directed by Sanjay. Apart from Amitabh, Sanjay, Kumar Gaurav, Suniel Shetty, Lucky Ali, and Mahesh Manjrekar, the film also stars Namrata Singh Gujral, Rati Agnihotri, Rohit Roy, Isha Koppikar and Malaika Arora.
In an interview with Indian Express, Sanjay said, "Once, Mr Bachchan took me aside and said, ‘Sanjay I won’t abuse, that’s one thing I’ve never done, so I won’t do it. If someone else is abusing, then I’ve no problem’. I was fine with it and thought it was extremely gracious of him. Phir bhi unke muh se nikal he gaya dialogue (Yet he said the dialogue), ‘Agar mujhe pata hota tum sab itne bade c* ho toh main kabhi ha bolta he nahi’ (laughs). But he was very, very nice and supportive."
Sanjay also said, “A very lesser-known fact is that all five of them, barring Kumar Gaurav, let go of their remuneration. On the fourth day of our shoot in Los Angeles, we had to shut down because the union guys came—and we were trying to go the non-union way. Suddenly the budgets escalated, and we didn’t know what to do. It was Mr Bachchan who came forward and said, ‘I don’t want any money, but let’s make the film happen.’ Then Sanjay and Suniel said no, and theirs was the big amount. Mahesh and Lucky’s amount was lesser.”
Sanjay added that Kumar Gaurav’s brother-in-law Raju Patel was one of the producers who said that he will pay him. He added that all these actors took the step ‘unconditionally' and asked if an actor would do the same thing today.
Amitabh has several projects in the pipeline such as Project K alongside Deepika Padukone and Prabhas. He will also be a part of The Intern remake along with Deepika. The actor featured in five films this year, such as, Jhund, Runway 34, Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva, Goodbye, and Uunchai.