Merry Christmas, Murder Mubarak, and now House Of Lies—Sanjay Kapoor has had a release every two months in the year so far. That’s a lot by any standard. To the actor, it’s a reaffirmation that perseverance always pays off.

“It’s not by chance that I did Bloody Daddy [2023], Made In Heaven 2, Merry Christmas, and so on. I have worked my ass off. It’s 30 years of experience, focus and perseverance [at work]. In the last one year, I have worked with directors Sriram Raghavan, Zoya Akhtar, Neeraj Ghaywan, Prakash Jha and Homi Adajania. People are happy even if they get to work with two or three such directors in their lifetime,” says the actor, who leads the Zee5 murder mystery.

The industry is witnessing a resurgence of several ’90s stars. While Bobby Deol made an assured comeback with Aashram and Animal (2023), Manisha Koirala recently headlined Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. Kajol and Raveena Tandon have fronted web series. How does Kapoor view this revival of sorts?

“These actors haven’t got work today by chance. Manisha had done great work even before, be it Bombay [1995] or 1942: A Love Story [1994]. Sometimes, you go through a transitional phase—you aren’t young enough to play a youngster, nor old enough to play an older character. With OTT, people are getting more opportunities. Also, you never heard anything wrong about all the actors you’ve mentioned. You heard their names only with regard to their work. These actors never lost hope or confidence in themselves. Bobby has spoken about it himself. It’s not that all the ’90s actors have made a comeback. There were others who lost their focus. Nobody is here to make your life; you have to build your own. Nobody is giving you a chance just because they love you.”

It’s certainly a wise lesson that his daughter Shanaya Kapoor, who is foraying into movies with Mohanlal’s Vrushabha, can benefit from. Kapoor says his journey has taught Shanaya the importance of being dedicated.

“Shanaya is intelligent. She has seen that this industry is not a bed of roses; you have to work hard. I don’t have to advise her, I’m always there for her. She is focused. During the pandemic, she was taking diction and dance classes. She didn’t waste that time. Mentally, she will be strong because she has seen my journey in the industry.”

She debuted in Bollywood with Kalyug (2005) about 19 years ago. Since then, Smilie Suri has gone through a significant journey. The actor battled depression and clinical anxiety, moved to Dubai and found solace in dancing. Suri—who has trained with Shiamak Davar, Sandip Soparrkar, and learnt Kathak from guru Vijayshree Choudhary—picked up pole dancing before starting her own classes in Mumbai. Now, she is returning to acting with the ZEE5 film, House Of Lies, also starring Sanjay Kapoor, Rituraj Siingh, and Hiten Paintal. In conversation with mid-day, Suri talks about her new approach to life, and how it has influenced her acting. Edited excerpts from the interview.

It feels awesome to face the camera again. I had forgotten this buzz. In 2016, I was battling depression and clinical anxiety. My husband walked out on me. So, I decided to go to Dubai, [where I was to do] an aerial silk class. When the instructor didn’t come, [another] teacher suggested I try pole dancing. I suddenly felt beautiful and liberated. I wanted to bring this to India, and mine became one of the first schools [for pole dancing]. My students range from 18- to 62-year-olds. I have a lot of people from the LGBTQiA+ community. Ours is a safe space for everyone. I want to get a studio in the future.

Be it Jodha Akbar (2013) or the reality show, Nach Baliye (2015), it was a lot of hard work. TV is tough. It didn’t work for me, maybe because it was a costume drama and I had to travel to Karjat every day. I feel if I had done a simpler and [relevant] daily soap where the language was colloquial, it would have been better. However, I didn’t find it regressive at all.

I was doing theatre and TV, but OTT fascinated me, especially during COVID. I manifested it with director Saumitra Singh’s OTT film.

I don’t listen to anyone, I stopped listening long ago. I’m a hermit, a rebel with a cause. I do what I want to do, be it a play, pole dancing, or a show. There have been times when I’ve had little money in my account, but I’ve managed it all. I’ve been destiny’s child.

Kalyug was a small film, which became really big. Those 40 to 50 days we spent with the unit, we had become a family. Although we didn’t have Instagram back then, I still feel a sense of gratification [when they call me] the Jiya Dhadak girl.

Of course! Everything I went through in these 20 years helped me add layers to the role in House Of Lies. I say and feel my lines differently. There’s more realism in acting. To catch that note and not make it look over-the-top, while keeping it entertaining, was something I had to learn.

Not at all. I’ve been through too much in life for that to bother me. It was difficult to reach this mentality. There are times when I also slip, but I keep telling myself to stay in a neutral state. Your high should not be too high, and your lows should not be too low. I’ve battled depression and anxiety. I’m more equipped to handle the lows more than the highs.

My extreme lows have been losing people in my life—my father, mother, and grandmother. I also lost my dog recently. The extreme high was the day Kalyug was declared a hit.

I feel grateful that I got help. I asked for help and got it. I did not shame myself or let anybody shame me for being depressed. [I also learnt] to stop convincing people. You want to learn from me? Come for my class. You want to cast me in a film? Cast me. You don’t want me? That’s also not a problem. I had my lonely moments, I felt bad and excluded, but that has all passed now. When you start listening to yourself, it helps.