Sanjay Gupta scraps upcoming film on Gandhi's assassination; says 'I feel stifled as a creative person'

With the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat being vehemently protested across the country, it is only natural for directors and writers to be apprehensive about making movies on controversial or sensitive subjects. Now, in an interview with the Times of India, filmmaker Sanjay Gupta has opened up about the creative freedom available to Bollywood in times of endless controversies. Gupta — who has directed movies like Shootout at Wadala, Jazbaa, and Kaabil — revealed that he was working on a movie about the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and spent close to two years researching the subject only to ultimately scrap the project. His aim was to explore everything that happened around Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. Through this movie, Gupta wanted to ask why the information about interrogation in the case is classified even 64 years after its conclusion. The director-writer also said that he had signed an A-list actor to play the role of Mahatma Gandhi’s killer Nathuram Godse, but several discussions later decided to discontinue the project. [caption id=“attachment_4425397” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Director Sanjay Gupta/Image from Twitter.[/caption] Talking about the movie, Sanjay says, “It was not about Gandhiji or Nathuram Godse, my film was titled Killing Mahatma Gandhi. The A-list actor whom I had signed to play Nathuram, told me, ‘Sanjay, you are so passionate about this project and you will make a good film, but kya isko lagne denge theatre mein? What’s the point of making it?’ After several discussions, we decided to put it on the back burner. So yes, I feel choked and stifled as a creative person, and there is nothing one can do about it.” The director also provided the reason for his silence on social media. He said that nowadays saying something is perceived as either being for the power corridors or against them. This is also why many Bollywood personalities refrained from openly commenting for or against Sanjay Leela Bhansali.