Film Kapoor made his debut in
Hindi cinema in 1995 with the movie
Prem, opposite newcomer
Tabu. Although both debutants rendered fairly decent performances, the movie was delayed for many years as it was in production since 1989. Sanjay was 30 when it finally released, the press then dismissively calling him Hindi industry's "oldest newcomer." It bombed at the box office. Kapoor's next movie was
Raja (1995) opposite
Madhuri Dixit which was a box office success. He went on to star in several films as a lead actor such as
Auzaar (1997),
Mohabbat (1997) and
Sirf Tum (1999). Apart from the moderately successful
Chhupa Rustam: A Musical Thriller (2001) he didn't have much success as a lead actor as most of his films failed at the box office. In 2002, he appeared as a villain playing the psychotic husband of
Esha Deol in
Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe. His performance was praised by critics. He started playing supporting roles in films like
Qayamat: City Under Threat (2003),
Julie (2004),
Luck By Chance (2009) and
Shaandaar (2015). He turned to producing with his first production
Tevar starring his nephew
Arjun Kapoor releasing in 2015. He played a cameo appearing alongside his brother Anil for the first time in
Mubarakan (2017). In early 2018, Sanjay was cast in the anthology film
Lust Stories as a lead character opposite actress
Manisha Koirala. In the same year, he was cast in the movie
The Zoya Factor as his real life niece
Sonam Kapoor's on screen father, and in 2019 in the
Kannada film
Seetharama Kalyana. In 2020, he appeared in a short film
Sleeping Partner opposite actress
Divya Dutta.
Television and web career (2003–present) He made his debut on television in 2003 appearing in the television serial
Karishma – The Miracles of Destiny opposite
Karisma Kapoor. In 2017, he was cast in
Vikram Bhatt's television serial
Dil Sambhal Jaa Zara opposite
Smriti Kalra. The show is about a man marrying a girl much younger than him and how they try to make their marriage work. In 2018, he landed a role in
ALTBalaji's web series
Soggy Hoga Tera Baap as Chiraag Arora. In 2019, it was announced that Sanjay eventually opted out of
Ekta Kapoor's project, choosing instead
Amazon Prime series
The Last Hour, which released in 2021, playing the role of DCP Arup Singh. In 2020, he appeared in
The Gone Game, a psychological thriller miniseries on
Voot, as Rajeev Gujral. In 2022, he appeared in the
Netflix web show
The Fame Game as Nikhil More, opposite
Madhuri Dixit. == Personal life ==