Sanjay Kapoor - Career

Career

Sanjay Kapoor made his debut in Hindi cinema in 1995 with the movie Prem opposite another newcomer Tabu. Although there was nothing noteworthy in the movie's script or treatment, both debutants rendered fairly decent performances. Yet the movie bombed at the box office. Much of the movie's failure is attributed to the sheer bad timing of its release. Prem was launched with much fanfare right after the super success of Mr. India but the shoot did not start. Then it went over budget and got delayed for 5 years. By the time it released in 1995, much of the excitement around the movie and the two debutants was lost. Furthermore most of the younger male actors had smartly slotted themselves in their respective categories. While Aamir, Salman, Shahrukh and Saif took the romantic hero roles, Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty and Ajay Devgn grabbed the action hero roles. In addition, Kapoor's style of acting, dialog delivery and mannerisms were much similar to that of his elder brother Anil Kapoor who was more versatile and established in the industry by then.

Sanjay Kapoor's next movie Raja (1995) which was opposite Madhuri Dixit was a box office success. Though the story of this movie revolved around Kapoor as the central character, it was leading lady Madhuri Dixit who stole the show with her acting and dance skills. Thus the movie did not consolidate Kapoor's position in Bollywood. Critics and viewers called Raja out-and-out a Madhuri Dixit film and suggested that it should have been renamed Rani. Subsequently most of his other films were either flops or average grossers.

Kapoor gave a critically acclaimed performance as a villain playing the obsessive, psychotic husband of Esha Deol in Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe which was a flop. He also gave appreciable performances in other movies such as Qayamat: City Under Threat, Julie and Luck By Chance. He also appeared in the 2003 television serial Karishma - The Miracles of Destiny opposite Karisma Kapoor. His most recent release was Prince (2010).