His heart beats for sensible cinema

Kiran Narain puts the spotlight on actor Sanjay Suri, who says had it not been for a tragedy at home, he would have been running the family business in J&K

Beginning his acting career as a college student in Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi, Sanjay Suri has now graduated to an intense, sensitive actor who is equally at ease with serious (My Brother Nikhil) as well as comic (Jhankar Beats) roles. After his recent dark thriller of Bas Ek Pal, the actor is busy with Speed (with Urmila Matondkar and Zayed Khan) and Kabhi Up Kabhi Down (a romantic comedy with Perizaad Zorabian), which are under production.

Having begun his modelling stint with big names lime ITC Hotels, Wills, Vimal and Phillishave, he joined the film industry at a time when it was believed that models didn’t make good actors. Despite the prejudice, Sanjay garnered critical acclaim for his acting, be it for a role as the charming brother-in-law in Daman, refugee Ramchand in Pinjar, the intense family man of Filhaal the star-struck R.D. Burman fan of Jhankar Beats or the tragic HIV +ve hero of My Brother Nikhil.

Speaking about his latest release Bas Ek Pal, he says, "This movie is about a single moment in the life of a bunch of friends which changes the whole course of their lives, more so the protagonist Nikhil’s."

This has been true of his personal life too. Due to one single moment on the fateful morning of August 1, 1990, when a bullet was pumped into his father’s chest by Kashmiri militants, life suddenly changed for Sanjay, then a teenager. From a fun-loving, carefree handsome boy of a wealthy and respectable family in Kashmir, he became a penniless refugee in his own country as his family fled Srinagar that very day with nothing but the body of his father.

Like in Bas Ek Pal in which close relatives and friends abandoned him, did he have a similar bitter experience in life too? He says, "Well, while there were a few relatives and friends who turned their back on us fearing that we might ask for help, there were others who came forward with support without hurting our self-respect. But for that ek pal or defining moment, I would still have been looking after the family business and estates in Srinagar. After we left Kashmir, I had no capital for business and I was still a student. That made me wander into modelling, and after that Bollywood was naturally the next destination."

He speaks about how he drew strength from his mother in those bleak years, "I got all my strength from my mother who though in one go had lost her husband, house, business and 49 years of her life in just a few seconds, gathered herself to be my inspiration and strength."

Sanjay anchored a travel show, and in 1999 came his first film Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi. It was the turning point in his professional life as he was accepted and appreciated in the Hindi film industry for his talent and sincerity.

Soon Sanjay started acting in films that were later critically acclaimed and he got the tag of ‘thinking actor’. His choice of films sets him apart from his contemporaries.

He has the courage to break away from the usual Bollywood pattern and picked causes like AIDS awareness in My Brother Nikhil, which he also co-produced with his friends.

For the movie, he lost 8 kg of weight to give authenticity to the role of an AIDS patient wasting away gradually. His role was so sensitively portrayed that he got a standing ovation for it at the Montreal Film Festival.

Clearly Sanjay is enjoying his stint as an actor, and has carved for himself a niche in sensible cinema.