If the buzz about tinseltown is any indication, the Sanjay Dutt-Ram Gopal Varma feud over Department is far from over. Well-placed industry sources reveal that the actor is very angry with the director for publicly (posting on a micro-blogging site) blaming him for the debacle of their film.

So much so that he could well do a Sanjay Gupta on him. – to try and ensure that no actor works with him again, and consequently, jeopardise Sarkar 3, which the filmmaker has announced. According to our source, the first person Dutt can convince to opt out of Sarkar 3 is Abhishek Bachchan. “Especially since Ramu has openly blamed Abhishek for getting Sanjay in the film and then himself opting out due to unavailability of suitable dates,” reveals our source, adding that next would be Amitabh Bachchan himself.

As he adds further, “Although Amitji has praised Ramu’s so-called rogue methodology of filmmaking in the promotional interviews, he himself won’t be happy with the way Department failed so miserably.” Already, the industry is talking about how Dutt and his associate Dharam Uberoi are bad-mouthing Varma. “Sanjay and Dharam are mincing no words when it comes to blaming Ramu for the failure of Department.

Even though the director has spoken about their interference harming the film, they are telling others that he has lost his touch, proof being his string of flops. So Sanjay and Dharam are saying it’s not a viable option to work with Ramu,” explains our source.

Past tense About five years ago, Dutt fell out with Sanjay Gupta, his friend and production partner, following financial issues over Shootout At Lokhandwala. After that, reportedly, Dutt ensured that no actor worked with Gupta, who hadn’t direct a film ever since.

And it was only this year that he could start work on his next film, produced by Ekta Kapoor. As our source divulges, “There were reports about how Sanjay Dutt tried to talk Anil Kapoor and John Abraham out of doing the film. Vivek Oberoi, who patched up with Sanjay last year, couldn’t upset him and opted out of Gupta’s film. If Dutt could jeopardise Gupta’s career, he can sabotage Sarkar 3.”

Finally, will Dutt convince the Bachchans to opt out of Sarkar 3? Only time can tell. When contacted, Dharam Oberoi maintained that Sanjay doesn’t interfere in others’ films. “Sanjay has been in the industry for over three decades. Why would he stoop low to ask any actor to not work with a particular director? Anil Kapoor, John Abraham are working with Sanjay Gupta. So the question of Sanjay Dutt asking actors to not work with Ramu doesn’t arise. People will say all sorts of things, but truth will always prevail,” he summed up.