Sanjay Kapoor is elated. Everybody he meets congratulates him on his close-cropped, toned down look. “Had I known that a crew cut would suddenly make me popular, I’d have adopted this look long ago?” he laughs, and goes on to talk of brother Boney Kapoor’s latest production venture, Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche, in which he is playing a negative role.

The industry is raving about your role in Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche. What drew you to a negative role?
To be honest I had never seriously considered doing a negative role before. Earlier, I used to think that a hero should always go in for positive roles. But after spending five odd years in this industry, I have come to realise that it is your performance that counts. If you give a good performance, it is appreciated irrespective of whether the role is positive or negative.

Related Stroies

Esha Deol— Mama’s Girl

Aftaab Shivdasani— Shooting Star

Boney Kapoor— Uncoventional!

Vinay Shukla— Challenge

Does that mean that you will do more negative roles?
Why not? If the script sounds challenging I’m game. All I want is a meaty role and a good director. Vinay Shukla, my director in Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche is one of the best directors I have worked with. He sets very high standards for both himself and for his artists and sees to it that we meet those standards. It hope we get to work together sometime later in future too.

Did you offer any advise to your debutant heroine, Esha Deol?
It’s amazing how confident today’s kids are. I remember myself as a knock-kneed, shaky-legged novice, but when I look at Esha I am confounded by her aplomb. I think she is too perfect for me to offer any advise. She’s got the best of both her star-parents and is sure to become a big star herself. And not only her, I’m amazed by Aftaab’s performance too. He too is a relative newcomer but in a comparatively short time has graduated to performing like a veteran.

You must be excited about working with real veterans like Shah Rukh Khan and Nana Patekar in your forthcoming film Shakti?
Yes, I had always admired their acting capabilities and am grateful to be given this chance to work with them. They both have very strong roles in the film. Nana is playing a stern patriarch and Shah Rukh is one of his sons. Karisma Kapoor is the heroine and it’s a different kind of a role. I have learned a lot watching these multi-talented people.

What’s your role in the film?
I don’t want to divulge much. But I have kept this close cropped look in Shakti as well.

Like brother Anil Kapoor you’re working in a lot of South remakes.
What’s wrong with that? Anil has profited from all his South remakes. Krishna Vamsee has done a good job directing Shakti and I’m confident that it will turn out to be a hit too. I have also been approached by Ramuji (Ram Gopal Varma) for a remake of hit Tamil film, Sethu. There are several other Southern proposals on the cards and I’m hoping for the best.

One of the best things to have happened to you was the unexpected success of your film Chhupa Rustam.
I myself was surprised when I heard that it was doing well. I had finished the dubbing of Chhupa Rustam in 1996. When calls started coming in informing me of the film’s success, I thought someone was playing a prank. I only believed the reports when Boney called to congratulate me. Chuppa Rustam was made for the grassroots audience, for the so-called B and C centres. It was never meant for posh theatres like Gaeity-Galaxy, it belonged to the suburbs, to the interiors. And it cornered its desired audience. It may hardly have created a flutter in Mumbai city but it did quite well in the suburbs as also in the Hindi belt and Punjab.

You are banking a lot on Soch too.
Soch is a taut psychological thriller. I’m playing a very complex character. Everybody thinks he is evil but it’s just the reverse. I liked working with Raveena in the film. She is one heroine who has matured from being a sexy bimbette to a serious actress and is bound to reach new heights. Aditi Govitrikar is my other co-star. She is playing my wife, who gets murdered and I’m suspected to be her killer.

Aren’t you thinking of turning producer?
I will definitely take up production some years down the line. With the kind of recession we’re facing, I think we should make more small budget films with crisp, taut scripts. And we should be selective about our target audience. It is better to concentrate on fixed centres which have benefited you traditionally rather than hope to capture an all India audience.

—D S