/> There is widespread panic in a certain section of the film industry. Sanjay Gupta is putting a vital story chunk of his own life on celluloid.

Gupta's spanking bungalow Woodstock in Mumbai was the venue of an intriguing and unique get-together last week.

In an instant-replay scene from Raj Kapoor's Mera Naam Joker a group of Gupta's close buddies Sanjay Suri, Rohit Roy and wife Manasi Joshi, Sophie Chowdhary, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Sudhanshu Pande, Samir Soni and Tisca Arora were sent out invites for a very special rendezvous.

None of the guests was apparently aware of why they were called. "It was like Raj Kapoor's Mera Naam Joker where each person who meant something special to the hero's life was invited. We were all so intrigued! We kept comparing notes and hounding each other for the purpose of the meeting until Friday evening when we headed for Guptas' bungalow Woodstock," says one of Gupta's actors.

Gupta made an announcement that challenged the actor in all his buddies. They were all supposed to play real-life characters in Alibaug which starts shooting in June. "My buddies are playing characters whom I've known for years, or amalgamation of people who've changed my life," reveals Gupta.

The director has confided to all his actors the source and identity of the real-life characters but wouldn't like to reveal their names now. "Sanju Dutt plays me. And yes the film begins with my character critical ill....yes, the takeoff point is my near-fatal road accident five years ago."

Says Sanjay Suri, "When Sanjay Gupta narrated the script it was like watching the film. While my colleagues were turning the pages of the script I was just listening to him and watching the entire film unfold in front of me."

Suri of course plays someone from Gupta's life. But Suri smiles mysteriously at the identity of his character.

Ironically Dutt who plays Gupta in Alibaug was absent at the hush-hush rendezvous at Woodstock.

"That's because Sanju is more an emotional and physical presence in my Alibaug. His role is that of the catalyst. I deliberately kept him out of the Friday meeting when I told my actors who and what they were playing."

Should Gupta's friends look for themselves on Alibaug?

"They should. They'll probably find themselves, and their souls," says the diehard director. "I start shooting Alibaug on June 15. And I can't wait. We're fully into costumes, rehearsals, test shots. I feel I've never made a film before. Alibaug is like a new beginning for me."