Sanjay Gadhvi (1965-2023) was an Indian film director and writer. He is known for directing the films ‘Dhoom’ (2004) and ‘Dhoom: 2’ (2006). He died on 19 November 2023 after suffering from a heart attack.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Sanjay Gadhvi was born on Tuesday, 22 November 1966 (age 55 years; at the time of death) in Mumbai. His zodiac sign was Scorpio. He did his schooling at Campion School, Mumbai. [1]The Times of India He attended HR College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai. [2]Facebook – Sanjay Gadhvi
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 8″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father, Manubhai Gadhvi, was a prominent figure in Gujarati folk literature. His brother’s name is Mahesh Gadhvi.
Wife & Children
He is married to Gina Gadhvi, who is a fashion designer.
Sanjay Gadhvi with his wife
He had two daughters named Sheena Gadhvi and Sanjina Gadhvi. His elder daughter, Sanjina Gadhvi, is an actress.
Sanjay Gadhvi’s daughter, Sanjina Gadhvi
Sanjay Gadhvi’s daughter, Sheena Gadhvi
Career
Sanjay Gadhvi started his career as an assistant director in 1991 with Anant Balani’s film ‘Patthar Ke Phool’ (1991), starring Salman Khan. Later, he assisted Balani for two more films.
Poster of the film ‘Patthar Ke Phool’
He made his directorial debut with the film ‘Tu Hi Bataa,’ starring Arjun Rampal and Raveena Tandon. But, due to some budget issues, the film was shelved. Later, he directed the film ‘Tere Liye’ (2000), which failed to run at the box office.
Poster of the film ‘Tere Liye’
In 2002, he worked as a director and writer for the film ‘Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai.’ He rose to fame after he directed the film ‘Dhoom’ (2004). He later also directed the sequel of the film ‘Dhoom: 2’ (2006), starring Hrithik Roshan.
Poster of the film ‘Dhoom: 2’
However, he later walked out of the banner for the second sequel of the film i.e., ‘Dhoom: 3’ (2013). In 2008, he directed the film ‘Kidnap.’ He also wrote the dialogues for the film. He worked as a director for the film ‘Ajab Gazabb Love’ in 2012. His last film as a director was ‘Operation Parindey’ (2020), starring Amit Sadh. The film was streamed on the OTT platform ZEE5.
Poster of the film ‘Operation Parindey’
Apart from filmmaking, he also tried his hand at acting. In 2017, he appeared in the Hindi film ‘Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi’ in which he played the role of Balvinder Tondon.
Controversy
A Lawsuit against Sanjay Gadhvi
In June 2010, an Indian film company named ‘Studio 18’ registered a lawsuit against Sanjay Gadhvi under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code at the Delhi High Court. The film company claimed that they signed Gadhvi for two films in January 2008 for which they paid him Rs 4 crores in advance. In October 2008, the company approved their first film ‘7 Days in Paris,’ but Sanjay Gadhvi failed to deliver the script by the predefined schedule. The company claimed that faced a loss of Rs 5.2 crores due to the delay caused by Gadhvi. [3]The Times of India
Award
- In 2007, he won the Hottest Young Filmmaker Award at the Stardust Awards for the film ‘Dhoom 2’ (2006).
- He was nominated for the Best Director Award at the 52nd Filmfare Awards in 2007 for the film ‘Dhoom 2’ (2006)
Death
Sanjay Ghadvi died on 19 November 2023 after suffering from a heart attack. According to some reports, Ghadvi suffered an attack while he was on a morning walk in Lokhandwala, where he felt chest pain. He was rushed to Kokilaben Ambani Hospital where he was declared by the doctors. He was cremated at the Oshiwara Crematorium Ground in Mumbai on Monday, 20 November 2023. [4]The Times of India His death was mourned by many Bollywood celebs and other eminent persons from various fields, including Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Uday Chopra, Hrithik Roshan, and Meena Iyer.
I took this photo of Sanjay whilst we were filming the climax of Dhoom 2 in South Africa. We made 2 films together – Dhoom and Dhoom 2. Sanju, when I spoke to you last week and we were reminiscing about our shoots and memories I would never have imagined even in my craziest… pic.twitter.com/zHvoy3FVVl
— Abhishek 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧 (@juniorbachchan) November 19, 2023
Facts/Trivia
- He had a deep interest in filmmaking since he was a child.
- In an interview, he revealed that Kumar Mangalam Birla, a popular industrialist, was his batchmate, and Vivek Vaswani, an actor and filmmaker, was his senior in school.
- In an interview, he talked about not being part of the second sequel of the Dhoom film series, ‘Dhoom 3’ (2013). He said,
I am trying to do every kind of movie because the process by itself is so much fun. Every film makes you know yourself better so why repeat? If that was the idea, I would have made Dhoom 3. I wanted to move on and explore something else.”
- He often conducted workshops and masterclasses on filmmaking.
Sanjay Gadhvi during a masterclass
- His favourite films are Terminator 2 (1991) and Jurassic Park (1993).
- He followed a non-vegetarian diet.
Sanjay Gadhvi’s Instagram post
- He was often spotted consuming alcohol at various occasions.
Sanjay Gadhvi’s Instagram post
- In an interview, he revealed that when he was in college, he wanted to buy a motorbike. He said that he was so mad about buying a bike that he used to doodle ‘Yamaha’ on the back of his college notebooks. He later bought a Yamaha RX100 by convincing his mother to withdraw money from a fixed deposit and borrowing Rs 9,000 from a friend.
References
