- Lawrence DSouza said cast ignored romance speculations during Saajan shoot
- Sanjay Dutt watched Madhuri Dixit through camera during her close-up scenes
- Director unaware of Madhuri distancing from Sanjay after his 1993 arrest
Madhuri Dixit, Sanjay Dutt, and Salman Khan-starrer Saajan was one of the most memorable love-triangle films of the time. The 1992 film also found itself at the centre of considerable attention due to Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit's reported romance.
Decades later, during an interview with Vickey Lalwani, Saajan director Lawrence D'Souza broke the silence, saying the entire cast and crew of the film were so immersed in the process of making the film, no one actually paid attention to the speculations. However, he recalled Sanjay looking through the camera while Lawrence was filming Madhuri's close-up scenes.
“I was the cameraman as well as the director, so sometimes he would look through the camera when I was shooting Madhuri's close-ups. He would watch her, but I never really thought about whether or not anything was happening,” he shared.
Lawrence D'Souza also spoke about the reported breakup of Sanjay and Madhuri following the actor's arrest in 1993. “I saw it in the news,” he said, explaining he was not aware of the details surrounding Madhuri's decision to distance herself from Sanjay Dutt at the time. He also shared that he had no idea of reports that Madhuri's family had opposed her relationship with Sanjay.
Previously, during a 1993 interview with Movie Magazine, Sanjay Dutt opened up about his rumoured relationship with Madhuri Dixit and recalled apologising to her. “This story broke out around the time of Saajan. In fact, when the story broke out in the press, she was shooting for Khel in Kenya. So, when we had a schedule of Saajan after that, I went up and said sorry to her. Because she was under public scrutiny for no fault of hers. She took it well,” he said.
Despite their reported past connection, Sanjay and Madhuri reunited on screen for Kalank, starring Varun Dhawan, Akua Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, and Sonakshi Sinha. While the film failed to perform at the box office, Sanjay and Madhuri's reunion grabbed attention.
