Sanjay Kapoor on back-to-back releases in 90s: ‘Used to work on 5 films together, was difficult to be in one character’

Sanjay Kapoor has said that he was the first person to have back-to-back five releases as he recalled his time in films in the 90s. He made his debut in Hindi cinema with Prem in 1995 with Tabu, who also made her debut with the film. (Also read: Sanjay Kapoor, Maheep Kapoor hug son Jahaan in new photos)

Prem did not prove to be a box office success, but his next, Madhuri Dixit-starrer Raja (1995) catapulted him to box office success. He worked in many films thereafter, including, Auzaar (1997), Mohabbat (1997) and Sirf Tum (1999).

Speaking with Etimes, Sanjay said, “Initially, when I started my career, there was no chance of any character staying with me beyond the set because even as a newcomer I was shooting for five films. Even before my first film got released, I was shooting for Raja, Kartavya, Beqabu and Chhupa Rustam all at the same time. In 1995, I was the first actor who had back-to-back releases. Prem released in May, Raja in June, Kartavya in September and Beqabu in 1996 January. So when you do different roles and shoot for 15 days for one film and the next few days for another film, it becomes difficult to be in one character.”

He added, “Today, we maintain focus on a single project and that’s the reason why the quality has really improved when it comes to performances, continuity, and many different aspects of filmmaking. One remains in character for a longer time, having said that, it’s not like I will take the character home, but when I shot for a web series named Last Hour in Sikkim, I was stationed there for three months and hardly came back to Mumbai. I was living that character till the time I was shooting. Obviously, when I finished the project, I got out of it and moved ahead. This was not the case earlier. I used to work for 5 films together and also worked two shifts every day. I used to shoot two films in a day.”

Sanjay made his OTT debut with the thriller The Gone Game on VOOT Select. Arjun Mathur and Shweta Tripathi Sharma also feature in the web show. Directed by Abhishek Sengupta and produced by Bodhitree Multimedia, the second season of the web show released earlier this month. It also features Shriya Pilgaonkar, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Harleen Sethi and Amit Jairath.

Talking about his new show, Sanjay had told PTI, “Season 1 of the show received a lot of appreciation from the critics and the audiences alike. Be it the concept or the storyline, we managed to break the iceberg and create a space in audiences’ hearts… I really hope that the audiences appreciate our efforts in Season 2.” Sanjay also reunited with Madhuri Dixit for the Netflix original film, The Fame Game.