Produced by brother Boney Kapoor, Sirf Tum could be described as a "home film" so Sanjay was able to get involved in post-production, which would have otherwise been impossible, for "how many people want to listen to a person who is just making it?". He feels it is unfair to term an actor's involvement in his film as interference since the actor's career hinges on the fate of his film. He is pleased with the curiosity created by marketing Sirf Tum on its own merit without resorting to cheap gimmicks as for the film, he is "thrilled with it".

The storyline of Sirf Tum is woven around the question: Can you fall in love with someone you have never even met? Sanjay's answer to how this is possible is a cheeky, "Go seethe film", which he is sure is special enough to keep audiences enraptured. He describes Deepak, whom he plays, as "someone the common man would identify with", someone you would "feel like you've seen" in the streets. He believes people now want "cleaner cinema" and are more ready to "mentally experiment", evident in the recent success of Satya and Bombay Boys.

Sanjay does not claim to have always wanted to be an actor; rather he decided around the age of 16 at the time when his brother, the now-famous Anil Kapoor, was still struggling. So he had no illusions as to what was involved in trying to make it big.

Despite being offered roles in films when he was in college, he insisted on graduating and then did courses in acting and dance which helped him lose his inhibitions.

Growing up in a film family, Sanjay learnt to be patient. He always remembers what his father, Surinder Kapoor, said: "It does not matter if there are a few people ahead of you, there are always many more behind." This optimism issurprising considering his first film Prem did not do very well, while most of the credit for his hit Raja went to co-star Madhuri Dixit. Failure has made him sorry but not bitter.

In Sirf Tum, Sanjay believes he has finally "come out of his shell". If the film runs well, he has the time to carefully choose his next film but nothing radically different is on the cards. If Sirf Tum fails, though, he refuses to rashly take on any film hoping for a miracle. He has been interested in production for a long time and the shift would have just come a little earlier. But the desire to act persists -- he remarks that maybe when he has his own production house, he could finance a film with himself in the lead role.

For the moment though, it's back to hectic promotional activity. Sirf Tum releases on June 11, and whatever the future holds, for now, Sanjay is just doing his best to see that the film opens to packed houses.

--CHARMAINE CARVALHO