I feel under-utilised as an actor: Sanjay Suri

Actor-turned-producer Sanjay Suri was in Lucknow earlier this week when TOI caught up with him. While Suri’s Lucknow connection was a revelation – his wife traces her roots to the city, the actor spoke at length about his Kashmiri antecedents.

A Kashmiri Pandit, Suri and his family had to flee Kashmir overnight in 1990 when his father was gunned down by terrorists. “It was a very painful time. I was 19 years old and we couldn’t even cremate my father in Srinagar. We packed whatever we could and came to Delhi in just five hours, with my father’s body, and cremated him the next day. It was so shocking for all of us,” relates Sanjay, “I can never forget that date. It was August 1, 1990. That one moment wiped out 19 years of my life,” says the one-time State Junior National Champion in Squash.
He goes on, “But in as many years, I haven’t been able to forget Kashmir. I have spent beautiful times there too. When I went back there after 18 years in 2009, it pained my heart to see the condition it was in. My dream is now to build a small cottage there, near where our house used to be, some time this year,” says he.
After Sanjay’s family shifted to Delhi, he started a business of garment export. And modelling was just something he did at the time to meet ends meet. “The business also needed funding so I started modelling. I think I fell in love with acting then. Even the ads that I used to do were performance-oriented. Once I was required to go to Goa for an assignment. On my way back I decided to stay back in Mumbai and get my portfolio done. That got me my first TV serial and a travel show on TV. My work was liked by the right people. In 1999 I landed my first role in Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi. It was a good film and I enjoyed doing it immensely. Bas, uske baad I shifted to Mumbai and then Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya happened with Abhishek Bachchan…,” he recalls, “It’s been a good journey so far.”
But is he truly satisfied with his acting career? “I won’t say I’m completely happy with what I have got, nor am I totally disappointed. I will say I feel under-utilised as an actor. There have been some great films that I have done, which have got me a lot of recognition like Filhaal, Pinjar, Firaaq, My Brother Nikhil, etc. I would say My Brother… was a milestone in my life.”
Ask him how he turned producer and Sanjay says, “Somewhere, as an actor I wasn’t satisfied with the stories being told. I met Onir during Daman. He was also editing it. Bas, we clicked and the idea of making our own films started germinating. We started producing because the stories we wanted to tell, no one was willing to finance them. We were also rigid. We had our own thoughts. We started writing My Brother Nikhil, and completed in just 10 days. We started looking for producers but people started making idiotic suggestions. Like someone told us get a star and let him have AIDS and your film will be a hit. It was such a weird idea and so, Onir and I thought let’s do it ourselves! I told him you direct it and he was like, ‘Me’? He had never directed a film. That’s how we got into production and also indie cinema. We did try and negotiate with people but probably we weren’t so convincing. I think independence is an attitude. Either you convince me or I convince you. But I’m not gonna change what is there to suit someone’s fancy. I believe in a thing and I’ll stick to it. We were travelling a road seldom travelled. But we did succeed. I’m proud of the films that we have done.”
Apart from My Brother Nikhil, Sanjay has produced Onir’s I AM and Sorry Bhai. Vedaa too will be produced by Sanjay.

Actor-turned-producer Sanjay Suri was in Lucknow earlier this week when TOI caught up with him. While Suri’s Lucknow connection was a revelation – his wife traces her roots to the city, the actor spoke at length about his Kashmiri antecedents.

A Kashmiri Pandit, Suri and his family had to flee Kashmir overnight in 1990 when his father was gunned down by terrorists. “It was a very painful time. I was 19 years old and we couldn’t even cremate my father in Srinagar. We packed whatever we could and came to Delhi in just five hours, with my father’s body, and cremated him the next day. It was so shocking for all of us,” relates Sanjay, “I can never forget that date. It was August 1, 1990. That one moment wiped out 19 years of my life,” says the one-time State Junior National Champion in Squash.

He goes on, “But in as many years, I haven’t been able to forget Kashmir. I have spent beautiful times there too. When I went back there after 18 years in 2009, it pained my heart to see the condition it was in. My dream is now to build a small cottage there, near where our house used to be, some time this year,” says he.

After Sanjay’s family shifted to Delhi, he started a business of garment export. And modelling was just something he did at the time to meet ends meet. “The business also needed funding so I started modelling. I think I fell in love with acting then. Even the ads that I used to do were performance-oriented. Once I was required to go to Goa for an assignment. On my way back I decided to stay back in Mumbai and get my portfolio done. That got me my first TV serial and a travel show on TV. My work was liked by the right people. In 1999 I landed my first role in Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi. It was a good film and I enjoyed doing it immensely. Bas, uske baad I shifted to Mumbai and then Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya happened with Abhishek Bachchan…,” he recalls, “It’s been a good journey so far.”

But is he truly satisfied with his acting career? “I won’t say I’m completely happy with what I have got, nor am I totally disappointed. I will say I feel under-utilised as an actor. There have been some great films that I have done, which have got me a lot of recognition like Filhaal, Pinjar, Firaaq, My Brother Nikhil, etc. I would say My Brother… was a milestone in my life.”

Ask him how he turned producer and Sanjay says, “Somewhere, as an actor I wasn’t satisfied with the stories being told. I met Onir during Daman. He was also editing it. Bas, we clicked and the idea of making our own films started germinating. We started producing because the stories we wanted to tell, no one was willing to finance them. We were also rigid. We had our own thoughts. We started writing My Brother Nikhil, and completed in just 10 days. We started looking for producers but people started making idiotic suggestions. Like someone told us get a star and let him have AIDS and your film will be a hit. It was such a weird idea and so, Onir and I thought let’s do it ourselves! I told him you direct it and he was like, ‘Me’? He had never directed a film. That’s how we got into production and also indie cinema. We did try and negotiate with people but probably we weren’t so convincing. I think independence is an attitude. Either you convince me or I convince you. But I’m not gonna change what is there to suit someone’s fancy. I believe in a thing and I’ll stick to it. We were travelling a road seldom travelled. But we did succeed. I’m proud of the films that we have done.”

Apart from My Brother Nikhil, Sanjay has produced Onir’s I AM and Sorry Bhai. Vedaa too will be produced by Sanjay.

Credits: Times of India

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