Shot at home: Sanjay Kapoor’s ‘unique’ experience!

For most of the people, the lockdown days have been about watching web shows/films on OTT platforms, cooking new dishes or just chilling out. But Sanjay Kapoor’s lockdown experience has been unique, as the actor has worked from home. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, he shot for a new web show, The Gone Game, from within the confines of his home, over the last 26-27 days.

“To start with, I really liked the script, and plus, I knew that it was going to be a totally new experience for me. It’s a thriller that has Covid-19 pandemic as the backdrop,” says Kapoor, adding that though he has worked on a number of films, TV shows and web series till date, this experience is “incomparable.”

He explains: “Also, I was like, ‘once the pandemic is over, and you are on the other side, you should be able to look back and feel that you did something spectacular even during the lockdown (laughs).’ Herein, I wasn’t just an actor, but I was also the cameraman, production designer, light-man and makeup artist too. Every actor has shot for 7-8 days individually,” he says.

The Lust Stories actor says he and other actors first shot a promo to see “if it’s looking good” before going ahead with the shoot at home. “As an actor, it’s very exhausting experience though. So, if we work for 12 hours in a ‘normal’ set up on a film set, herein, we could work for just around six hours, because you are also checking the lighting, camera and makeup etc.,” he says.

Kapoor also finds it “amazing” that though the work on the show is finished, he didn’t meet even a single person from the cast or crew. “Among actors, I have only met Arjun Mathur, when we worked in Luck By Chance. So, it’s been unique in every possible way,” says the senior actor.

Ask Kapoor if he took help from his kids vis-à-vis technical aspects and he says: “Not really! But initially, when I started work on it, I cajoled my son (Jahaan Kapoor) into helping with holding the camera for a few of the objective shots. Otherwise, the director (Nikhil Nagesh Bhat), DoP and the team was constantly there on Zoom call, giving cues and overlooking things,” he concludes.