The word nepotism has been used and often overused in the film industry over the last few years. It has been alleged that star kids or relatives of ‘insiders’ have it easier as they get support that outsiders rarely do. And while this is true to an extent, every now and the, there is a story of an ‘insider’ who fails to make it big despite that support. This story, however, is of an insider – whose one brother is a star and another a top filmmaker – but he claims he received little support.
The actor whose career suffered due to 15 flops
Sanjay Kapoor, brother of actor Anil Kapoor and filmmaker Boney Kapoor, made his debut in the 1995 film Prem, when he was already approaching 30. The film bombed at the box office. The following year, he found his first success in the form of Raja, a blockbuster. This allowed him to work in nearly 20 films over the next decade. But apart from the odd success like Auzaar and Chhupa Rustam, all others bombed at the box office. Even Auzaar’s success was attributed to Salman Khan’s growing stardom. Sanjay worked in 15 flop films from 1997-2005, which saw his career nosedive. Even after he began doing negative roles in films like Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche, he could not find success.
When Boney Kapoor did not help Sanjay’s career
In a recent interview, Sanjay spoke about the time when his career had hit a rough patch in the early-2000s. At the time, his brother Boney Kapoor was making No Entry, a three-hero film that would go on to be a blockbuster, But Boney did not see it fit to cast Sanjay as one of the leads. “My brother (Boney) didn’t cast me when I was going through the (tough) phase. When he made No Entry, he could have taken me instead of Fardeen Khan; but he didn’t. There already was Anil Kapoor and Salman Khan in its cast, so he could have sold the picture anyway. The picture would have done well anyway even if he took me. Things would have still happened the way it happened and No Entry would have been a blockbuster,” the actor said on Shivani Pau’s podcast.
However, Sanjay clarified that he is not bitter over it as it all comes down to business. “But he took Fardeen because, at that time, he was more sellable than me. I haven’t worked in my brother’s production in the last 20 years. When I was producing films and going through this low (phase), it was not that they didn’t love me. But it is business at the end of the day,” he added.
Sanjay Kapoor’s later career
Sanjay Kapoor has continued to work in films over the last two decades, appearing in Luck By Chance, Shaandaar, Lust Stories, Mission Mangal, Merry Christmas, among others. His most recent outing was in the Netflix film Murder Mubarak. In 2003 he made his TV debut with Karishma – A Miracle of Destiny, starring Karisma Kapoor. He played the lead role in the show Dil Sambhal Jaa Zara in 2017. From 2020, he has been a regular in web series such as The Gone Game, The Last Hour, and The Fame Game.
