Sanjay Suri on 24 years of Daman, "We all used to bond over lovely tea at the tea gardens in Assam"

Sanjay Suri had just entered the industry when he got a chance to play a pivotal character in Kalpana Lajmi’s acclaimed Daman, which starred Raveena Tandon alongside Sayaji Shinde. He looks back at the film on its 24th anniversary in an interview with us.

 

Sanjay Suri on 24 years of Daman, "We all used to bond over lovely tea at the tea gardens in Assam"

 

How did you land a role in Kalpana Lajmi’s Daman?

 

I still remember it was very early in my career after Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi and Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya that I got a call from Kalpana Lajmi. I was very excited to hear from her. I had loved Rudali and wanted to work with her and Bhupenda (Hazarika).

 

How did your meeting with Kalpana go?

 

On one call I visited her office in Lokhandwala, where she met me and said she really liked me in Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi and had a role to offer in her next film called Daman. I was super excited.

 

Daman was not a mainstream film, and still you wanted to be part of it so early in your career?

 

A lot of focus for newcomers then would have been commercial films but here I was getting a chance to work with her. I definitely was excited about it. I met Onir also for the first time at her office; he was editing the film. So, in a way my long association with Onir started with Kalpana ji and Daman.

 

How was the shooting in Assam?

 

Soon everything fell into place. We were off for the shoot to beautiful Assam with Raveena Tandon, Sayaji Shinde and Raima Sen. The story of marital rape was being explored by Kalpana. I played Raveena’s empathetic, sensitive brother-in-law.

 

Did you enjoy working with Raveena?

 

I had seen her movies and this was an opportunity for me to work with a very experienced and famous star, so yes as a newcomer it was very exciting for me to be playing the romantic lead opposite her and also play the younger brother to a very seasoned actor like Sayaji Shinde.

 

Lots of fond memories?

 

Daman became a starting point of many friendships too, be it Onir, Raveena, Raima Sen or even you, Subhash. Even during our evenings over there, Bhupen da would sing for us next to a bonfire and it was really special to have experienced all that 25 years ago. Often, we all used to bond over lovely tea at the tea gardens in Assam where most of us were staying. Onir and I used to discuss cinema over a cup of tea. I am thankful to Kalpana ji who was instrumental in bringing all of us together and she and Bhupen da are missed a lot.

 

Also Read: Sanjay Suri on 21 years of the late Raj Kaushal’s Shaadi Ka Laddoo, “Raj tapped into the funny side of me, which rarely any other director has”

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