Sanjana Kapoor: I fainted the first time I was here

Daughter of the legendary actors Jennifer and Shashi Kapoor, and one of the most respected theatre personalities in the country, Sanjana Kapoor is simplicity personified. She greets you with a warm smile and even jokes about looking fat in photographs. But don’t be fooled by her easy going attitude because the woman is in the city on a mission.

While it is the ongoing 18th International Children’s Film Festival that brought Sanjana to Hyderabad as jury member, she is also here to lay the foundation for her theatre initiative Junoon. “We’re meeting with school principals on Thursday to initiate Junoon in the city. As of now, we are active in Pune and Patna,” she shares.

Aimed at bringing theatre to children, Junoon will also facilitate interaction with famous personalities from across the globe, and include art forms like puppetry.

“It’s not necessary that theatre becomes a part of children’s lives, but it’s important that they are exposed to it. Theatre is a learning experience that teaches kids life skills such as being team player, social and more resourceful,” she adds.

Acknowledging the recently held Hyderabad Children’s Theatre Festival, Sanjana laments she ‘just missed it’. Besides her work as jury member, she is always up for more work. “I can do more in the time that I’m here because we are just watching the shorts. So, I am holding a theatre workshop with 30 kids from across the country,” she says about bringing together two of her biggest passions — children and theatre.

Coming back to the film festival, this is the first time that Sanjana is part of the golden elephant. “I’m curious to study it further. I haven’t visited the other venues yet and have only met the child delegates. I’d like to meet some of the children who are coming for the screenings as well. There have been a few concerns about the fest and I plan on looking into them as well,” she informs.

Recounting memories of her parents’ experiences of performing in the state, she says wistfully, “My father performed at the then Vizag University when he was 18. He said it was so beautiful. I hope the auditorium is still there so that I can go and photograph it.”

When she was 12, Sanjana accompanied her parents to Hyderabad where her father Shashi Kapoor was shooting for Heat and Dust. That is when she experienced one of her ‘firsts’. “It was a beautiful surrender into velvety darkness,” she recalls. No, she’s not talking about her first crush, but about the first time she fainted!

“It was the month of March and my mother and I were near Charminar. I was buying hundreds of bangles and I told my mom that I was going to faint. But she didn’t think I was serious. I fainted and there I was, this strange creature taking up all the space in the small store. I was 12 but quite tall for my age,” she recalls.

The city continues to be a place for family bonding as Sanjana is here with her son, who is also on the children’s jury at the fest. “We are having such a great time. We went to a private museum near Charminar yesterday,” says the proud mother.