FILM · 2002 · INDIA
Kaante
92 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (92)
- #001
Kaante had one of the highest-grossing openings in Bollywood history at the time.
- #002
This was Amitabh Bachchan's 100th leading role.
- #003
Lucky Ali threatened to take Sanjay Gupta and Pritish Nandy to court over non-payment. Sanjay Gupta claimed he had received 50% of Lucky's fee. Amitabh Bachchan also had payment disputes with the producers.
- #004
Suniel Shetty was returning to his hotel after spending time at a gym. Because of his appearance, police suspected he was a terrorist and questioned him. This happened because the World Trade Center attacks occurred while filming was underway in Los Angeles, putting the entire United States on alert.
- #005
It is the Bollywood version of Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992).
- #006
Major yells at Ajju for killing one of the innocent bank employees while trying to trigger the alarm. Major says this was unnecessary because the alarms had been disabled by Andy before the robbery began. We later see that Mac triggered the alarm and alerted the police by pressing the disabled alarm button.
- #007
The film was planned to be shot in the slums of Mumbai, but it ultimately went to Los Angeles.
- #008
Kaante was being shot in Los Angeles, USA, in 2001, when the September 11 terrorist attacks took place. This forced the producers to relocate scenes planned for various locations that were then considered sensitive.
- #009
Hong Kong film director Ringo Lam had seen the Indian film Gaddaar (1973), starring Vinod Khanna, years earlier. He took the basic idea of its plot and made City on Fire (1987). Quentin Tarantino saw that film and was inspired to make Reservoir Dogs (1992). Sanjay Gupta decided to create his own version with Kaante.
- #010
Anurag Kashyap had previously backed out of writing Sanjay Gupta's Kaante, but he had realized the film was based on Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992).
- #011
From the beginning of the film there are several hints that Lucky Ali's character is a police officer: 1. He becomes the film's narrator, pointing out the flaws of the other five characters but not his own. 2. Unlike Major, who has to pay for his wife's medication; Ajju, who no longer wants to rent out his club; Mark, who wants to rescue his girlfriend from a bar owner; Andy, who wants legal custody of his son through a financially secure future; and Bali, who wants to support his mentally ill sister as well as pay off a drug lord's debt, he has no ulterior motive that would benefit him from the robbery. 3. His is the only interrogation scene in Macquarie's prison that is not shown to the audience.
- #012
The actors were shown in reverse order in the opening title sequence, so Amitabh Bachchan, who normally receives top billing, appears last.
- #013
Director Sanjay Gupta hired foreign hands for the action scenes of Kaante, his Rs 28 crore film.
- #014
It was the second film in which Sanjay Dutt and Kumar Gaurav worked together; the first was Naam (1986), which Kumar Gaurav himself produced and which was an important turning point in Sanjay Dutt's career. After Kaante, Kumar Gaurav took a break from films.
- #015
The film was initially to star Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Akshaye Khanna, Mahesh Manjrekar, Kumar Gaurav, Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Lisa Ray. Later, however, Akshaye Khanna chose to withdraw from the project, Malaika Arora replaced Shilpa, and Namrata Singh Gujral replaced Lisa.
- #016
It was Kumar Gaurav's last Indian film.
- #017
Lucky Ali later criticized the film, saying that given the amount of money and stars involved, it should have performed better. It should have broken records and been the year's number one highest-grossing film.
- #018
The film was shot on a 16-day schedule from start to finish.
- #019
Sanjay Dutt and Sanjay Gupta came together with Kaante in 2002 to form a production company called White Feather Films.
- #020
This was the second film to feature Amitabh Bachchan and Kumar Gaurav together; the first was Indrajeet (1991), in which Kumar Gaurav appeared as a guest star.
- #021
One version of the film pays tribute to Rajendra Kumar and Vijay Sippy in its opening title sequence.
- #022
During the tense standoff after the heist goes wrong, Ajju accuses Bali of being a police informer based on a few incidents in which he saw Bali talking to a policeman. Although Ajju is only bluffing about Bali's fears, the second part of his accusation turns out to be partly true, since Bali is partnered with Mac, who is revealed to be a policeman.
- #023
At the club meeting, Sanjay Dutt reveals to the rest of the group that he was the one who stole the laptop truck and got them all jailed. Since Lucky Ali is revealed to be a policeman at the end of the film, it would have been more appropriate for him to report the truth about the truck theft to his superiors; that would have stopped the conspiracy to rob the bank and cleared the rest of the group, while Sanjay Dutt's character would at best have spent a few years behind bars. In short, the LAPD bears more responsibility for deliberately triggering the chain of events that led to the bloodbath after the heist. Ironically, it is Lucky Ali who forces Mahesh Manjrekar (albeit indirectly) to join the conspiracy, which amounts to coercion in police procedure.
- #024
The film was shot exactly like a Hollywood film.
- #025
Mahesh Manjrekar took on his first major role in a Hindi film, having previously acted in films he directed.
- #026
Suniel Shetty's character was earlier named Fedai Anna because he plays a bodyguard in the film, and Anna was his pet name in the film industry.
- #027
Due to disagreements between international producer Raju Patel and the team, the film was reported to be released in August 2002. The film was reported to have been delayed by four months.
- #028
The first arrest and interrogation scenes resemble scenes from The Usual Suspects (1995). The interrogation is conducted by Detective MacQuarrie. Christopher McQuarrie is the writer of The Usual Suspects (1995).
- #029
The film was released in cinemas in Canada.
- #030
In the context of RESERVOIR DOGS (1992), the film this is a remake of, several characters keep switching places at the climax: Mahesh Manjrekar starts out as Mr. Pink, beaten by Amitabh Bachchan (who remains Mr. White to the end) for simply considering leaving, but ends up as Mr. Blonde when he is shot by Lucky Ali's character (always Mr. Orange) while torturing Detective MacQuarrie. Sanjay Dutt enters the game as Mr. Blonde confronting Mr. White but becomes Joseph Cabbote upon realizing Mr. Orange is a policeman. Despite his initial hostility toward Sanjay Dutt's character, Suniel Shetty dies as Good Guy Eddie, who backs Joseph, while Kumar Gaurav ends the film as Mr. Pink. As in the original, however, it is left unclear whether he is killed or arrested, since in the original, when Steve Buschemi leaves the safe house, arrest warning loudspeakers are heard instead of gunshots, whereas in this film an LAPD helicopter chases Kumar Gaurav's car and it is not known whether he is brought down and captured.
- #031
Amitabh Bachchan and Rati Agnihotri reunited nearly 20 years after Coolie. In the 80s he worked with Kumar Gaurav and Sanjay Dutt but never shared screen space with them.
- #032
Based on his knowledge of the interior layout of Service American Bank, when Sanjay Dutt's character Ajju reveals to Mahesh Manjrekar that he was the culprit behind the laptop truck theft, further explaining that the security inside was extremely light and complicit in the crime, it can be assumed that Ajju had planned to rob the bank in advance and that the rest of the group joining in on Major's provocation was merely a coincidence.
- #033
Maahi Ve from Kaante. This song is adapted from Israeli singer Zehava Ben's song "Ma Yihye". It was later recreated by Gourov - Roshin for the film "Wajah Tum Ho" (2016).
- #034
Although it was shot in Los Angeles, there is not a single shot of Beverly Hills because Sanjay Gupta did not want to show the "flashy" areas of Los Angeles. He wanted to show Downtown Los Angeles and places like San Pedro Street, where films such as Swordfish (2001), The Usual Suspects (1995) and Seven (1995) were shot. Se7en also inspired the film's look.
- #035
During the September 11 attacks, Sanjay Gupta was on his way to shoot when the first plane struck. He was on the ground when the second plane struck. Amitabh Bachchan had gone to attend the Morocco Film Festival to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. From there he went on to Turkey. He flew to Los Angeles via the United Kingdom. His flight was in the air when the explosions occurred. Because LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) was closed for 4 days, the flight turned back. This caused delays in the shooting. Bachchan was waiting in London for flights to resume. He boarded the first plane flying from London to Los Angeles.
- #036
Ranjit Chaowdhary appears in a Hindi film after a long absence.
- #037
While shooting the song Ishq Samundar, Cyrus Broacha and the MTV Bakra team came to the sets and pranked the crew.
- #038
The Mission: Impossible theme from the 1966 TV series was recreated for the climax scene of Vijay Anand's film Shantaj. The song "Nateeja Hamari Mohabbat Ka Kya Hai" from Khauff. The melody of this song's interludes and antaras is adapted from the theme of the "Mission: Impossible" television series. The theme music was sampled once again in the song "Raama Re" in Kaante (2002). The same theme music was used in a comedy scene in Deewana Mastana (1997) featuring Govinda, Anupam Kher and Satish Kaushik. Shankar Ehsaan Loy also sampled the Mission Impossible theme music in the song "Main Aisa Kyon Hoon" from Lakshya. Sunil Shetty's long-delayed film Barood -The Fire used the theme music in its title sequence. It was later used in Housefull 5 in the scene where Nargis Fakhri, Jacqueline Fernandez and Sonam Bajwa sneak and crawl into the ventilation duct. The song was also released by Dan The Automator as "Fear Of A Brown Planet" from the album Bombay The Hardway Guns Cars and Sitars.
- #039
Raveena Tandon signed on for the film but later backed out. Tabu was then signed. The role was ultimately cut from the film.
- #040
During the song "Rama Re", when the actors enter the building's terrace to begin planning the heist, Suniel Shetty can be seen carrying his equipment in a backpack bearing the logo of the soft drink brand Thumbs Up. At the time, Shetty, along with Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan, was one of Thumbs Up's brand ambassadors in India.
- #041
It was Amitabh Bachchan's first film shot in the United States.
- #042
When Macquarie reveals in the safe house that one of the six men is an undercover police officer, the camera zooms in on every face except Lucky Ali's, which may indicate that he is the police officer.
- #043
The film's opening and closing lines are the same, and in both cases they are narrated by Lucky Ali in the past tense.
- #044
Bappi Lahiri said: "Look at the variety of musical styles within the song. So much so that some people took a melody segment within the song, took just its two lines of lyrics and played them, and made a song out of it. From Disco Dancer (singing) 'Jawani ek leher, Jawani ek nasha'. In Kaante there is a song, Rama Re (singing) 'Jaane Kya Hoga Rama Re, Jaane Kya Hoga Maulaa Re'. They copied my music. A very small part of the song was enough to become a hit."
- #045
The film was shot with synchronized sound and became the third mainstream film known to have been shot with synchronized sound.
- #046
KAANTE became the fourth best-selling album of 2002 with 18 million copies. The songs "Mahi Ve", "Rama Re" and especially "Ishq Samundar" were officially declared songs that broke chart records.
- #047
Apart from the role played by Lucky Ali, all the actors played the roles offered to them. The role was first offered to Akshaye Khanna.
- #048
Sanjay Gupta could not enjoy the film's success because he had a terrible car accident a week after its release and was admitted to Lilavati Hospital for about 10-11 weeks.
- #049
It was released in Germany under the title "Savage Dogs".
- #050
The film's intertitle displays "and then…" instead of "intermission".
- #051
The film's first line of dialogue contained profanity that the Indian censors ordered removed; this was something the producers found easy to do since it was a voice-over and created no lip-sync problem.
- #052
Sanjay Dutt has no scenes with Rati Agnihotri.
- #053
Amitabh Bachchan has no scenes with Malaika Arora.
- #054
Shatrughan Sinha and Danny Denzongpa's film Choron Ki Baraat also had a similar story.
- #055
The Killing (1956) also had a similar story.
- #056
Sanjay Gupta stated that he had written a script titled "Dagadi Chawl" for which he wanted Naseeruddin Shah and 5 new actors. They were to rob a bank and return to Dagadi Chawl. There they would realize that one of them was a police officer. When Sanjay told Sanjay Dutt the script casually, Sanjay insisted on playing one of the roles. Gupta was annoyed with Sanjay and told him that if he played one of the roles, he would have to give the other roles to well-known actors as well. Sanjay told him not to worry, since they would be producing the film themselves. Sanjay Dutt told Gupta that they would cast great actors in the other roles. Sanjay also told Gupta that he would get Amitabh Bachchan for the Naseeruddin role. Gupta told Dutt that he did not think Amitabh would work with him. Kaante was thus born.
- #057
Sanjay Gupta stated that Bobby Anand was part of the production company along with himself and Sanjay Dutt. But they were having many problems with him. They found his behavior suspicious and wanted to break away from him. They had to persuade him to resign from the company.
- #058
Isha said she was told the role was that of Sanjay Dutt's girlfriend. She was then told that the makers felt Kaante's length was too long and that they had to shorten it, so they had to drop her role. They shot the song first. She said she was very naive and took people at face value, adding that she does not know whether it can be called a trick, but perhaps they could have removed her role from the film.
- #059
Except for Suniel Shetty, the real names of the main characters played by Amitabh Bachchan (Yash Rampal), Sanjay Dutt (Jay Rehan), Kumar Gaurav (Anand Mathur), Lucky Ali (Maqbool Haider) and Mahesh Manjrekar (Raj Yadav) never appear on screen; they are instead referred to by the nicknames Major, Ajju, Andy, Mac and Bali respectively, and are revealed only during the post-credits sequence.
- #060
The film's bottle-green look was created at some Paranormic studios in the US, because DI did not exist in India at the time.
- #061
Sanjay Dutt had a French beard in the film.
- #062
Suneil had a different beard in the film.
- #063
Sanjay Dutt and Mahesh Manjerekar are shown smoking throughout the film, and both smoke in real life.
- #064
Almost all the actors wear suits and ties throughout the film.
- #065
Sanjay Gupta wanted to make the film with Naseeruddin Shah and newcomers. When Sanjay Dutt came on board, he decided to become part of the project and also asked Sanjay Gupta to approach Amitabh Bachchan for the film.
- #066
The sound heard at 0:36 in the song "Rama Re" (the vocal version) was first heard at 0:21 in Azmat's song "Lak Nu" (Club Mix) from the Well Wicked album. That was in 1991.
- #067
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Reservoir Dogs (1992), Kaante (2002) was screened alongside it by Quentin Tarantino at the New Beverly Cinema in West Hollywood on 12 and 13 April 2017.
- #068
The film's music was ranked 94th on Planet Bollywood's list of the best Bollywood soundtracks of all time.
- #069
In the same year Sanjay Dutt shot Mahesh Manjrekar's films Hathyar and Pitaah, and in Hathyar they show Sachin Khedekar narrating even after his character dies in the film. Perhaps Mahesh got the idea back then, while Kaante was in production.
- #070
The film was Suneil's third release in December, after two flops, Karz and Maseeha.
- #071
In the same year, Awara Paagal Deewana, which also featured Suneil Shetty, was shot in the US and had foreign action directors as well.
- #072
Despite featuring Sanjay and Suneil, the film has much less action.
- #073
Sanjay Dutt and Amitabh Bachchan worked together in Hum Kisise Kum Nahi, released the same year.
- #074
The suspicion that Lucky Ali was a policeman was revealed by many people via SMS, which ruined the effect for many of them.
- #075
Sanjay Gupta was wary of shooting in slums because everyone would crowd around when Sanjay Dutt's BMW arrived.
- #076
Whenever a character tries to say something crude, for example when Sanju says condom or Mahesh says something, Amitabh silences them in the film, though perhaps it is just a coincidence. In one scene Amitji almost says Chu but then changes the word.
- #077
Amitji may not have done a fully sync-sound film before, but many of his scenes in films such as Deewaar (the famous temple scene or the death scene), Yaarana (the elevator scene), Satte Pe Satta (the drunk scene), Khuddar, Kaalia and Sharaabi (Munshi's death scene) were not dubbed.
- #078
For many of the actors, Kaante was their first sync sound film.
- #079
Rohit Roy appeared in a non-title cameo role as a background dancer in the song Ishq Samundar.
- #080
Sanjay Dutt had no scenes with Gulshan Kıvırcık.
- #081
Sanjay Dutt had no scenes with Malaika Arora.
- #082
Gulshan Kıvırcık had no scenes with Rati Agnihotri.
- #083
Sanjay Gupta first presented the script to Sanjay Dutt, who liked it and said he wanted to be in the film. Sanjay Dutt advised Sanjay Gupta to cast Amitabh Bachchan in the film and arranged a meeting with him.
- #084
The pool scene featuring Amitabh and Zeenat was shot in Sunil Shetty's apartment. As a teenager, Sunil Shetty met Amitabh on the day he shot with him at a swimming pool. Amitabh took the time to talk to the young Sunil Shetty and even gave him his home telephone number. The experience affected Sunil deeply, and years later he spoke about it on KBC.
- #085
The film was nominated for Filmfare Awards for Best Film, Best Director (Sanjay Gupta), Best Actor (Amitabh Bachchan), Best Supporting Actor (Sanjay Dutt), Best Actor in a Comic Role (Mahesh Manjrekar), Best Playback Singer-Female (Sunidhi Chauhan for "Mahi Ve") and Best Music Direction. This was Dutt's first nomination in the Best Actor category apart from three separate nominations he had previously earned there, one of which he won, for VAASTAV: THE REALITY (1999), which happened to be directed by Mahesh Manjrekar.
- #086
Collar Ko Uppar Chadha Kar was written by Anand Raaj Anand, who wrote the song for Amitabh Bachchan. In the end, however, the song was sung by Sanjay Dutt.
- #087
Rama Re was sampled by Nana Vasconcelos from Bird Boy.
- #088
Amitabh Bachchan signed on to the film on the condition that he would not mistreat any actor on screen and that no actor would mistreat him. He also signed on to the film on the condition that he would not use abusive language on screen.
- #089
Despite praise for the lead performances, technical qualities and music, many commentators believe the film's below-average commercial performance was a result of its climax, in which Lucky Ali's undercover police character was revealed to impatient first-day audiences.
- #090
Kumar Gaurav's character was named "Anand Mathur" for the second time; the first was the character of the same name in Begaanaa (1986).
- #091
In the film, Suniel Shetty works as a bouncer at a dance bar. In real life he owns a highly successful food and bar establishment in Mumbai called WHITE MISCHIEF (not to be confused with the alcohol brand), which is frequently visited by A-list film celebrities and wealthy society figures. He also owns restaurants specializing in local Udipi cuisine.
- #092
In an interview, Sanjay Gupta explained that the film was not initially inspired by Reservoir Dogs (1992). He had a copy of the film and tried to watch it but found it boring, because at the time he enjoyed action films starring Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, and to him everyone in Reservoir Dogs did was talk.
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