Sanjay Gupta turns architect and interior designer

A home is where your story begins, goes a popular adage. Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta seems to believe in this. After doing the interiors of his houses in Mumbai, Goa and Khandala, the director has now bought a piece of land in Panchgani, a hill station located a few hours away from Mumbai.

Plans are in place to build a colonial-style holiday home for his kids, Shivaansh and Dalai. “I’ve always wanted to own a home at a real hill station. This house will take a year to build. I’ve designed its interiors, too. It will have a colonial feel and I’m building it with the red stone that you get only in Goa. The idea is to spend more time away from Mumbai, especially because the plot is right next to where a close friend lives,” says Sanjay, currently holidaying in London with his family.

A few months ago, the director re-decorated his bungalow in Versova on which he spent a year hand-picking the furniture, lights, paintings and even the carpets and curtains. He also created a play-area, a pool and a couple of other additions in his Khandala bungalow where he often spends time writing scripts. So far, Sanjay had bought ready-to-move-in houses, but this is the first time that he has bought a plot and will build a bungalow from scratch.

“I’m a man of many passions and homes is definitely one of them. These houses are also legacies that I’ll leave behind for my kids,” he sums up.