Sanjay Kapoor

Sanjay Surinder Kapoor (born 17 October 1965 ) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi film and television. Born to producer Surinder Kapoor, Kapoor made his acting debut with Prem and had his breakthrough with Raja, in the same year.

Kapoor went onto appear in several films as a lead, most successful of which was Sirf Tum (1999). Following unsuccessful films and a hiatus, Kapoor earned praises for his portrayal in the television series Dil Sambhal Jaa Zara (2017–2018) and the web series, The Gone Game (2020–2022) and The Fame Game (2022). Kapoor's other notable films include Shakti: The Power (2002), Luck by Chance (2009), Seetharama Kalyana (2019), Mission Mangal (2019), Merry Christmas (2024) and Murder Mubarak (2024).

Kapoor is the founder and director of Sanjay Kapoor Entertainment Private Limited. He is married to entrepreneur Maheep Kapoor, with whom he has two children.

Early life and background Kapoor was born on 17 October 1965 in Mumbai, to Nirmal Kapoor and film producer Surinder Kapoor, into a Punjabi Hindu family which embraces Arya Samaj teachings. He is the youngest of four children. His elder brothers are Boney Kapoor, a film producer and Anil Kapoor, an actor. Actress Sridevi and the producer Mona Shourie Kapoor, both Boney's wives, were his sisters-in-law, and Sandeep Marwah, founder of the Noida Film City and owner of Marwah Studios, is his brother-in-law, married to his sister Reena Marwah. Actors Sonam Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor, Khushi Kapoor, Mohit Marwah and Harshvardhan Kapoor, and film producer Rhea Kapoor are his nephews and nieces. Prithviraj Kapoor, patriarch of the Kapoor family, was his father's cousin.

Career Film Kapoor made his debut in Hindi cinema in 1995 with the movie Prem, opposite newcomer Tabu. Although both debutants rendered fairly decent performances, the movie was delayed for many years as it was in production since 1989. Sanjay was 30 when it finally released, the press then dismissively calling him Hindi industry's "oldest newcomer." It bombed at the box office. Kapoor's next movie was Raja (1995) opposite Madhuri Dixit which was a box office success. He went on to star in several films as a lead actor such as Auzaar (1997), Mohabbat (1997) and Sirf Tum (1999). Apart from the moderately successful Chhupa Rustam: A Musical Thriller (2001) he didn't have much success as a lead actor as most of his films failed at the box office. In 2002, he appeared as a villain playing the psychotic husband of Esha Deol in Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe. His performance was praised by critics.

He started playing supporting roles in films like Qayamat: City Under Threat (2003), Julie (2004), Luck By Chance (2009) and Shaandaar (2015).

He turned to producing with his first production Tevar starring his nephew Arjun Kapoor releasing in 2015. He played a cameo appearing alongside his brother Anil for the first time in Mubarakan (2017).

In early 2018, Sanjay was cast in the anthology film Lust Stories as a lead character opposite actress Manisha Koirala. In the same year, he was cast in the movie The Zoya Factor as his real life niece Sonam Kapoor's on screen father, and in 2019 in the Kannada film Seetharama Kalyana. In 2020, he appeared in a short film Sleeping Partner opposite actress Divya Dutta.

Television and web career (2003–present) He made his debut on television in 2003 appearing in the television serial Karishma – The Miracles of Destiny opposite Karisma Kapoor.

In 2017, he was cast in Vikram Bhatt's television serial Dil Sambhal Jaa Zara opposite Smriti Kalra. The show is about a man marrying a girl much younger than him and how they try to make their marriage work.

In 2018, he landed a role in ALTBalaji's web series Soggy Hoga Tera Baap as Chiraag Arora. In 2019, it was announced that Sanjay eventually opted out of Ekta Kapoor's project, choosing instead Amazon Prime series The Last Hour, which released in 2021, playing the role of DCP Arup Singh.

In 2020, he appeared in The Gone Game, a psychological thriller miniseries on Voot, as Rajeev Gujral. In 2022, he appeared in the Netflix web show The Fame Game as Nikhil More, opposite Madhuri Dixit.

Personal life

Kapoor married his longtime girlfriend and entrepreneur Maheep Sandhu in December 1997. The couple has two children, daughter Shanaya (born 1999) and son Jahaan (born 2005). Shanaya is also an actor, who made her debut with Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan (2025).

Filmography Films Year Title Role Notes Ref.1995 Prem Shantanu / Sanjay "Sanju" Verma Raja Raja Patangwala Kartavya Karan Singh 1996 Beqabu Raja Verma1997 Mohabbat Gaurav M. Kapoor Auzaar Yash Thakur Zameer: The Awakening of a Soul Kishan Mere Sapno Ki Rani Vijay Kumar 1999 Sirf Tum Deepak 2001 Chhupa Rustam Raja / Nirmal Kumar Chinoy 2002 Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe Dushyant Singh Soch Raj Matthews Shakti: The Power Shekhar 2003 Qayamat: City Under Threat Abbas Ramani Darna Mana Hai Sanjay Kal Ho Naa Ho Abhay Malhotra Cameo appearance LOC: Kargil Maj. Deepak Rampal 2004 Jaago Shrikant Julie Rohan 2005 Anjaane Aditya Malhotra 2006 Unns: Love...Forever Rahul Malhotra 2007 Dosh Om Shanti Om Himself 2009 Luck By Chance Ranjit Rolly Kirkit I.M. Romeo 2010 Prince Ali Khan 2014 Kahin Hai Mera Pyar Rahul Kapoor 2015 Shaandaar Harry Fundwani Mumbhaii – The Gangster 2017 Mubarakan Avtar Singh Bajwa Cameo appearance 2018 Lust Stories Salman Ahmad Dibakar Banerjee's segment 2019 Seetharama Kalyana Dr. Shankar Kannada film Mission Mangal Sunil Shinde The Zoya Factor Vijayendra Singh Solanki 2020 Sleeping Partner Sahay Short film 2023 Bloody Daddy Hameed Shaikh 2024 Merry Christmas Ronnie Fernandes House of Lies Rajveer Singh Chaudhary Murder Mubarak Rannvijay Singh 2025 Sikandar Nisha's father Param SundariParmeet Sachdev Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal MurdersRajesh Bansal

Television Year Title Role Notes Ref. 2003–2004 Karishma – The Miracles of Destiny Amar 2017–2018 Dil Sambhal Jaa Zara Anant Mathur 2020–2022 The Gone Game Rajeev Gujral 2020–present Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives Himself 2021 The Last Hour DCP Arup Singh 2022 The Fame Game Nikhil More 2023 Made in Heaven Ashok Malhotra Episode: "And They Lived Happily Ever After"2026SankalpPrashant Singh

Producer Year Title Ref. 2015 Tevar

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Ref. 2010 Screen Awards Best Ensemble Cast Luck by Chance