I feel I’m underutilised as an actor: Sanjay Suri

New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANS) Sanjay Suri has received much critical acclaim for his performance in movies like ” Pinjar” and “My Brother Nikhil” and he has many projects lined up for the coming year, but the actor feels he is “underutilised” in the industry.

“After being in the industry for almost a decade now I still feel that I’m underutilised as an actor. I am happy with the way my career has shaped, but I am not satisfied. I want to do much more,” Sanjay told IANS in an interview.

Sanjay started off as a model before entering Bollywood in 1999 with “Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi”. He then went on to do films like “Daman”, “Jhankaar Beats, “Bas Ek Pal” and “Filhaal” among others.

The actor has primarily worked in films with an ensemble cast, but maintains that it was not planned that way.

“It was not a conscious decision to do mainly multi-starrers. It just happened that the kind of films offered to me were ensemble pieces with multi-dimensional stories,” he said.

“I feel the trend today is bent towards the saying ‘the more the merrier’. The ticket prices are so high that people want to see more and more.”

The coming year will see Sanjay portraying myriad characters in films like Nandita Das’ directorial venture “Firaaq”, Sanjay Gupta’s “Alibaug”, Anjum Rizvi’s supernatural thriller “Flat” and Sudhir Mishra’s “Sikandar”. Mishra’s movie has terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir as its backdrop and it was extensively shot in the state.

Sanjay, who has grown up in Kashmir, said it was extremely emotional visiting the valley after 18 years.

“Going back to Kashmir was, I think, a catharsis waiting to happen. My entire childhood was spent in Kashmir. It was a very emotional state for me to be in.

“At one level I liked being there. At the other I did not enjoy it, because it brought back too many memories. Even today when I think about home, it’s always Kashmir. One can never take Kashmir out of me,” he added.

Sanjay, who was in town to promote “Sorry Bhai”, his second production venture after “My Brother Nikhil”, said that even though producing a film is a tough task, it makes him feel empowered.

“Producing a film definitely becomes a little difficult since it carries with it a sense of pressure, but it also makes you feel empowered. There is a feeling of ownership, which gives you a high.

“As an actor it is someone else’s responsibility, but when you become a producer the responsibility of the film is on your shoulders,” Sanjay said.

The producer-actor, however, said he had no plans to direct a film any time soon.

“I haven’t thought of directing a film as of now. It is a highly qualified job and I’m not ready for it yet. I love the craft and I love being a part of cinema. But right now my focus is acting and then production,” he said.