After his National School of Drama course, when actor Sanjay Mishra took up acting in early ‘90s, his only quest was to do impactful roles.

“My aim was just one — film chahe jaise bhi ho, people must say ‘Aap bahut acche thhe’, be it a comedy any other genre. Never in my wildest dream did I expect that someday I will be the face of a project. But, Ankhon Dekhi (2014) changed the game, followed by Masaan, Dum Laga Ke Haisha (both 2015) and Kadvi Hawa (2017). Thankfully, ab toh kamaal ka kaam aa raha hai,” he says while shooting in Lucknow.

He continues, “It’s rare that makers look at actors like us as a leading face of a project. Mukhya patra ke roop main log dekhte jaroor hain but himmat bahut kam log karte hain. But slowly, now it has started to happen. Drift has happened and the taste of audience has changed too. Hero, heroine ke alawa bhi ab kahaniyaan hain… due to which, now big productions houses see us as a leading face!”

Mishra further adds, “The best thing that happened to me is that so-called success came to me slowly but surely — warna log pagla jate hain (laughs). Climbing step-by-step, I kept my feet on the ground. And, that’s the reason I enjoy doing short films exploring deeper characters. The hunger to do new things keeps me going.”

The 58-year-old has an interesting mix of projects in his kitty. “I have shot for Rohit Shetty’s Cirkus, Anees Bazmee’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Colour Blind, Woh Teen Din... I shot a lovely film in Leh-Laddakh besides Teachers Day and Fugitive in Dehradun. Some more projects have happened but aajkal woh non-disclosure sign karwa lete hain sab…” he shares.

Last seen in 36 Farmhouse, Mishra laments that with the overflow of work, often he doesn’t have time to meet his family, “and my kids are solely dependent on their mother as I cannot give them time.”