The prayer meet of filmmaker Sanjay Gupta, who passed away unexpectedly on October 31, was held in Mumbai on November 3. Several members of the film fraternity gathered to pay their last respects and celebrate the life of a man who had touched countless hearts. His wife Anu, son Shivaansh, daughter Dalai, along with several family members and close friends, were present at the emotional gathering.
Inside Sanjay Gupta’s prayer meet: A poignant, joyful and musical remembrance of the man with a gigantic heart
There was a palpable sense of grief among the attendees, many of whom were still struggling to come to terms with the fact that Sanjay Gupta was no longer among them. Yet, amidst the sorrow, there was also warmth, nostalgia and even laughter as those closest to him recalled his infectious energy, generosity and larger-than-life personality. A singer and his team performed devotional songs as guests arrived and offered their condolences to the bereaved family.
Among the industry personalities who attended were Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Isha Koppikar, Manoj Bajpayee, Jackie Shroff, Tabu, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Vivek Oberoi, Sikandar Kher, Dino Morea, Tusshar Kapoor, Sanjay Suri, Sophie Choudry, Vivaan Shah, Anu Malik, Anand Raj Anand, Zayed Khan, Sharman Joshi, Sudhanshu Pandey, Bhushan Kumar, Gulshan Grover, Aman Gill, Ashoke Pandit, Samir Soni, Neelam Kothari, Mahesh Manjrekar, Shaad Randhawa, Namashi Chakraborty, Viveck Vaswani, Varun Sharma, Rohit Roy, Sujoy Ghosh, Bikram Saluja, Anees Bazmee, Arko Pravo Mukherjee, Sooraj Pancholi, Aditya Pancholi, Salim Merchant and several others.
An hour later, Rohit Roy took the mic and got teary-eyed as he said, “My relationship with Gupta started 30 years back when I hosted his press conference. And today, I am hosting his prayer meeting. That’s how life is.” He remarked, “Everybody is not here because they had to be here or they had to pay respects to him, but because in some way or the other, he touched all our lives.”
He handed over the mic to singer Vipin Aneja, who sang the song ‘Jaane Tere Shehar’ from Sanjay Gupta’s 2015 film, Jazbaa.
Ritu, who had known him since his teens, spoke next. She said, “There’s an immense amount of comfort you have with the person you grow up with, and Gupta and I had that. I met him when he was 16 and I was 19, and when we were both thin! We both studied in Sydenham College. His 8×10 room was a meeting place for many of us. Though his house in those days was really small, his heart was always gigantic.”
Ritu then stated, “Gupta and I would talk for hours and hours. 90% of that talking was done by him. 50% of that 90% invariably was a filmi story, a great script, a new project or a business idea because he loved movies. Even more than that, he loved Anu, Shivansh and Dalai.”
Struggling to hold back her tears, Ritu revealed, “I have been handling his finances for many years and I knew that he had only one goal – to see that they were well looked after, in case something happened to him. But I never thought anything would ever happen to him; he was ‘the’ Gupta, after all. He had fought every mess that came his way, and the messes were many. He was brought up by a single mom, came from extremely humble beginnings and went on to build this empire. He was used by a lot of people but it never saddened him. He smiled, simply said, ‘It’s a part of life’, and moved on.”
She added, “He was the life of every party; everybody would agree to it. He was the best host, and he launched so many people. He was the personification of life, and that is why I never thought that there would ever be a time when he wouldn’t be a part of my life.”
Anand Raj Anand sang ‘Dil Kya Kare’ and ‘Yaar Mangiyasi’ from Kaante (2002); the latter was deleted from the final cut of the film. Anand revealed that it was a favourite of Sanjay Gupta.
Milap Zaveri gave a wonderful, filmi tribute in his style, “He was always Guru ji for me. I was 21 when he gave me Kaante. For 25 years, Anu always told me, ‘You write the corniest and cheesiest lines for my husband’!” He then mouthed one such line, “Jo kisi ke aage nahin jhukta, jo mohabbat dene se nahin rukta tha, woh Sanjay Gupta tha!”
Looking at his kids, Milap said, “Sorry, Shivaansh and Dalai, but he was also my father! He was my Godfather and I loved him to bits.” He then pointed to Sanjay Gupta’s picture and added, “Yeh Baadshah tha! He’s here. He’s not gone anywhere. Yeh Zinda hain, hum sab ke dil mein.” The last line left a deep impact as Sanjay Gupta made a film called Zinda (2006).
Sanjay Gupta’s son, Shivaansh, came on stage. He was held lovingly by Anu and he began by saying, “My father did not have a single bad drop of blood in his body. He was the funniest man I’ll ever know; the coolest father I’ll ever know. He lived every single day of his life with perseverance, love and faith. He always entertained what he would call ‘my changing obsessions’, whether it was Lego, football, perfumes, video games or movies! He supported me with everything that I wanted to do.”
He continued, “He would listen to my never-ending stories with full attention. He was my best friend. He always told me that he would never treat me like a kid because he also saw me as his best friend. Almost every morning, we would have a fun banter as to who is stronger – Batman or Spider-Man! Every night, we watched food reviews while having dinner and watched hundreds of videos about motorbikes. I wish I had grown up with him by my side.”
Shivaansh then stated, “I always asked my dad, ‘We live in a huge house facing the ocean. I can have or eat anything I want at the drop of a hat, all because of your hard work. How am I supposed to top this? How am I supposed to give a better life to my children? This is the best life anyone can ever have’. He replied, ‘I started from zero. I went to school in an under-construction building, got a chance to buy new clothes once a year on Dussehra, and eat Chinese food once a year on Diwali. I came from zero and made 1000. Now it’s your job to make a million’!”
Dalai came on stage but was too emotional to speak. Hence, Anu decided to read her message on her behalf. Some of the excerpts from Dalai’s tribute: “I would forever love you for your smile, humour and your laughter. You always believed in me; you were my hope and my passion. The love that you showed to the world was only a fraction. It didn’t matter whether I was smiling, crying or simply confused. You were always there…Soon, I’ll open the restaurant you always wanted to open. You called it Café Dalai. I promise that I’ll try my best to fulfil your dreams with all my love…He would always talk to me about fake scenarios and would say, ‘When I die, you have to be strong’; I would always end this conversation in a hurry, saying, ‘No. Stop. I don’t want to talk about it. You are not dying anytime soon’…He always participated in my interests, whether it was cooking, painting or singing. We would watch movies and turn any corny line into our own inside joke or laugh at the generic storyline of very predictable plot twists…Sometimes, late night, we would order pizza and make horror short films where he would teach me and Shivaansh how to direct or record, how the lighting and camera placement along with the timing had to be perfect…I know if he was here today, he would be bored listening to the bhajans! On the way home, he would try a new restaurant and if it was good, he would call up everyone he knew!”
As the prayer meet drew to a close, the attendees formed a queue to offer their condolences to Anu, Shivaansh, Dalai and the rest of the family. It was at this moment that Shah Rukh Khan arrived at the venue. This writer was just about to offer condolences to Anu when the superstar approached and, in an extremely sweet and courteous gesture, asked if he could meet her first. This writer, of course, readily agreed. Shah Rukh then warmly embraced Anu, Shivaansh and Dalai, offering comfort to the grieving family. It was a quiet yet deeply moving moment that brought the emotional evening to a close.
Ultimately, Sanjay Gupta’s prayer meet was much more than a gathering to mourn his passing. It was a celebration of a life lived with tremendous passion, humour, resilience and generosity. There were tears, but there were also smiles, laughter, music, unforgettable anecdotes and heartfelt declarations of love.
And if there was one sentiment that echoed through the evening, it was that Sanjay Gupta may no longer be physically present, but the memories he created and the lives he touched will ensure that he remains zinda in the hearts of those who knew and loved him.
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