Tall, slender, delicately carved British features set apart Sanjana Kapoor from the milieu she lives in.
Born to Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer Kendall-Kapoor, Sanjana is the youngest and the only daughter of the actor couple's three children. Sanjana's brothers, Kunaal and Karan did short, unsuccessful stints in films and modeling respectively.
Sanjana belonged to the veteran film family of India and her mother an actress herself, was deeply rooted in English theatre. Inevitably, Sanjana first faced the camera as a thirteen-year-old Jennifer in the classic 36 Chowringhee Lane some 20 odd years ago. She slipped into celluloid again as a heroine opposite Naseeruddin Shah in an inconsequential film called 'Hero Hiralal'.
The girl had a flair for expression but cinema, probably, wasn't her medium. Sanjana's western looks and an anglicized accent were her stumbling blocks. She was intelligent enough to realize that and did not waste time pursuing a career in Hindi films. Instead she set out to revive the Prithvi Theatre, the dying model of her grandfather Prithvi Raj Kapoor.
In whatever she did, Sanjana had the support of her parents, especially her father. After Jennifer's death, Shashi tried his best not to make his children feel deprived. Shashi's weakness for Sanjana is well known. Jennifer herself used to narrate laughingly how during a mild earthquake Shashi, with little Sanjana in his hands, ran down the stairs of their multi-storeyed apartment in Mumbai completely forgetting Jennifer and their sons.
Sanjana's marriage to Aditya Bhattacharya (son of Basu Bhattacharya) did not go well with Shashi but the young couple held together. Not for long though. There were minor hiccups in the beginning that led to full-blown differences later. The couple separated finally.
That was when Sanjana really began to explore her options. Her love for theatre was natural, and she decided to consolidate her hold over it through Prithvi.
It is almost ten years now that Sanjana is actively associated with Prithvi theatres. Travelling with Indian troupes to foreign shores, inviting artistes from abroad to perform in India, holding the Prithvi festival regularly, intermittently hosting shows for respectable television channels in India.
The Kapoor girl currently is working on a theatre workshop for children. Looking serene, decked in a mish-mash of westwear complimented with Indian accessories, Sanjana says: ''I love theatre because it gives me an opportunity to travel and interact with people. I was just looking for that kind of life.''
While nieces, Karishma and Kareena rock Bollywood with glamour and commercial spinners, aunt Sanjana too carries the family name to the most justified fame forward, albeit doing her bit of work quietly.
Tall, slender, delicately carved British features set apart Sanjana Kapoor from the milieu she lives in. 