Sanjay Kapoor, who was last seen in Sriram Raghavan’s Merry Christmas feels that the timing in the Hindi film industry is important. He debuted in 1995 with Prem and witnessed the series of releases among which only Raja was a huge success but he claims that as an actor, the success of the film was credited to it music. In an exclusive chat with The Free Press Journal, actors talks about his low times, how Lust Stories was a game changer and much more. Excerpts:
With your recent roles, do you feel that things have changed for you in the industry?
I have always seen my glass half full and now industry is also seeing it. I feel what is yours in yours.
People have started seeing that I am doing great work, the validation is coming along now. I believe that when one goes through hurdles and go too low, people take time to validate you than the usual.
Do you regret that things didn’t go as planned after Luck By Chance?
I met so many directors at different venues, they all spoke about my role but it never translated into more work. I feel, it’s about the right timings. I was heading out of my gym and fortunately, Dibakar and his team were working on the characters. He saw me and saw Salman in me. I was doing the readings for it in 3-4 days from then. I was on the sets in the next fifteen days. But, one must keep working hard. A 40-minute short film did so much for me that 40 films of mine couldn’t do.
Do you still feel that Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche would have done better for your career?
It was produced by my brother and he offered me the male lead role which eventually Aftab Shivdasani did. Earlier, we were thinking to cast Hrithik Roshan even before his debut film came out. But when I see the film and my character that comes in the interval is much more impactful and colourful. I thought, I would have not gained anything from the lead role. I chose to play Dushyant.
A still from Sirf Tum |
How did you handle your lull in the career?
I was a part of super hit films like Raja, Sirf Tum but I felt the timings of these films were wrong. Even before my debut film. I finished shooting four other films including Raja, Beqabu, Chhupa Rustam and Kartavya as a raw newcomer. Prem and Kartavya didn’t do well, in between Raja did well but I didn’t gain much from it. Today, social media creates so much hype for an average film too. Sirf Tum was released between Biwi No. 1 and Hum Dil Chuke Sanam so I couldn’t get the credit of it as expected.
A still from 'Raja' |
Did you enjoy producing films while you were on a sabbatical?
I never enjoyed it but I had to feed myself. Coming from a film family, I only knew the film business. But now is the time where I am getting choices to choose from. I was always a responsible actor but it is a more satisfying time for me. Back in the day, I was getting offers but they weren’t substantial so it led me to enter production.
Are you grateful for the OTT invasion?
It is the present, I would say but can’t say it’s the future too. I did Lust Stories in 2016, when it wasn’t even a thing. During covid, the medium multiplied a lot, big stars started to do big projects on digital platforms. By 2018, I did The Last Hour, it was a reverse cycle for me unlike others. I did The Fame Game, Gone Game, Sleeping Partner on OTT and besides these, I finally had a hit theatrical too with Merry Christmas.
