The actor won acclaim for his role as SP Aslam. However, before Dhurandhar, Sanjay Dutt faced a slew of flops, including Bhoomi (2017), Kalank (2019), Panipat (2019), and Shamshera (2022). Talking about the actor's previous failure, Kaante director Sanjay Gupta said that Dutt's potential had been "wasted" before the Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar.

Kaante director on how Sanjay Dutt was 'wasted' before Dhurandhar

During a conversation with InControversial Podcast, Kaante director Sanjay Gupta was asked about Sanjay Dutt and his work trajectory. "We are constantly in touch. We have been working on what to do next. My problem is that it has to come organically. If you see from 2007, we made Lokhandwala, and we released Wadala in 2014, but it took those many years for the story. So likewise, now I am seeing Sanju do all this and he is doing a great job, there's no denying that," he replied.

The filmmaker added that he feels that before doing Dhurandhar, Sanjay's potential was wasted, "But before Dhurandhar, I feel he has also been grossly wasted. The kind of films that he has done…the filmmakers did not know how to present him. They didn't know his strengths, and they didn't take that time out to study. I didn't have to study; I grew up with him."

The director also shared an exciting update on Kaante 2. For the uninitiated, Kaante, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sunil Shetty, Lucky Ali, Mahesh Manjrekar, and Kumar Gaurav, was a big hit from the early 2000s. Fans have been eagerly waiting to know if they will get a sequel to Kaante.

Giving an update on Kaante 2, the director added, "Today also when I see him, there's still so much potential and he can carry a film on his shoulders but provided we give him that film. That is what we were constantly going back and forth on. We have also cracked a very base level story for Kaante 2. That is something I will now start writing."

Pritish Nandy Communications

Gupta revealed that he is currently working on the script for Kaante 2, "After Kaante, it was bound in some legal shackles, which has been taken care of now. So, because that is taken care of, I am investing in it creatively - into writing the sequel.

When asked who he would love to cast in the sequel, the director said, "If you ask me for my wish list today, I would make Kaante with Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan and Manoj Bajpayee, and to this, add Jaideep Ahlawat, Vijay Verma, and Ali Fazal."

Sanjay Dutt and Sanjay Gupta have collaborated on many films including Kaante, Musafir, and Shootout at Lokhandwala.

Lead and social image credits: Jio Studios, Pritish Nandy Communications