Bollywood actor Sanjay Mishra, who is best known for essaying comic roles, has taken up a challenging part in his latest film, Vadh, which is a psychological thriller. Shambhunath Mishra—Sanjay’s character in this film—is serious and dangerous; a complete contrast to the ones he’s portrayed in Dhamaal (2007), All the Best: Fun Begins (2009), and this year’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, among other such movies.
Sanjay launched the trailer of his latest release at Kathakar, a storytelling festival that was recently held in the Capital. We caught up with the actor who delved into his love for the craft and the role Delhi has played in his life.
Life, camera, action!
Though born in Darbhanga, Bihar, Sanjay—who has always been fond of stories and cinema—has spent most of his growing-up years in Varanasi. It was when he was bitten by the acting bug, that he decided to relocate to Delhi in 1989 in order to pursue a degree at the National School of Drama (NSD).
Reminiscing an incident from his NSD days that proves his admiration for movies, Sanjay shared, “Tigmanshu Dhulia (director, actor, and screenwriter) is a close friend and was also my hostel roommate. His [Dhulia’s] elder brothers were very fond of Hollywood films, so I would always watch such films [recommended by them] with him. Once, his brothers told us about a new release called Beverly Hills Cop (1984). Both Tigmanshu and I immediately went to watch the film."
"We were so impressed by it that we started thinking of ourselves as Eddie Murphy. The next day, when we were entering college, someone told us that a DTC bus driver Eve-teased a senior actress from our college. That day, along with other batchmates, we stopped every bus so the actress could confirm who the driver was. Once we found him, we circled around him, and Tigmanshu and I were ready to showcase our Eddie Murphy moves. However, that is when other DTC drivers circled around us with rods in their hands, and we—the two action heroes—were the first ones to run away (laughs)”.
In awe of Delhi
Talking about his life in Delhi, actor Sanjay expressed that, from the day he stepped into Delhi, he was fascinated by the place. “When we first came to Delhi, Sanjay Dutt’s movie Rocky (1981) was out in theatres. I was travelling in a rickshaw with my father, and I remember asking him ‘How many cinema halls does this city have?’. He replied, ‘I guess around hundred’, and I began thinking
‘Oh, Varanasi only has six, and here there’s around a hundred’. This is how fascinating Delhi has always been to me.”
Sanjay’s favourite place in Delhi, he shared, is the Gole Market at Connaught Place—a go-to spot when he was in school. “My friends and I would bunk classes to watch films. Later, we’d go to Gole Market to spend time there as we could not go home before the school day ended.”
Mentioning how he still misses the juice that cost him only seventy-five paise at the time, he added, “At the centre of the market, there was a tree that would spread a pleasant fragrance in and around the area in the evenings. Though the tree is not there now… every time I pass the market, I miss that fragrance.”
Signing off, Sanjay concluded, “If I say I am [born in] Varanasi, then it would not be wrong to say that Delhi is like my elder brother. Parents teach you things when you are very young. But as you grow up, you start learning from your siblings, friends, and your own mistakes and experiences. At that time
[when I was growing up], Delhi taught me a lot. I will always respect and love this place as people love and respect their elder siblings.”