He made a cool case for intense antagonists, rugged gangsters and army officers across 1990s and 2000s Hindi and Bengali cinema, and has gone viral once again in the age of social media.
Sharad Kapoor has quite the fan following, as his recent viral video proves. A friend of the actor, Hema Choudhary, the founder of Mumbai-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Bezubaan Public Welfare Trust, shared a video explaining why the actor's four dogs were being taken to animal welfare as he dealt with some physical and health challenges. Social media was flooded with care and concern for the actor, and it made us go back down memory lane to his journey as an actor.
Off-Screen Journey
Before he achieved a cult fan following as the villain Prakash Sharma in Josh opposite Shah Rukh Khan, the actor was first an assistant director for the 1991 film Lakshmanrekha.
He then faced the camera for the first time with his debut in Mera Pyara Bharat (1994), and was also a part of television with Mahesh Bhatt's iconic soap opera Swabhimaan (1995).
And then came his stage for fame as he channelled the rugged 90s look, and several comparisons were also made with Shah Rukh Khan at that time. This is particularly why their face-off in one of his most iconic roles in Josh opposite King Khan was so talked about.
Popular Villain Roles
His role as Prakash Sharma in Mansoor Khan's 2000 film Josh, set in Goa, was Sharad Kapoor's most celebrated role. He played the ruthless rival gang leader of the Bichhoos opposite Shah Rukh Khan's Max. What Sharad Kapoor brought to the role was street-smart swagger, and he also earned himself a Filmfare Award nomination for Best Villain for the same.
Before this, there was Mahesh Bhatt's 1996 film Dastak, where he was paired opposite Sushmita Sen. The psychological thriller was a breakthrough moment for him as a mainstream actor, where he essayed the character of a psychotic stalker obsessed with Sushmita Sen's character. He had a menacing presence in this bone-chilling avatar, to say the least.
In Mahesh Manjrekar's 2002 film Hathyar: Face to Face with Reality, Sharad Kapoor channelled a raw performance as an extremely loyal yet volatile gangster alongside Sanjay Dutt.
Though stereotyped for a bit, Sharad Kapoor's versatility was well displayed across a range of dramas and cult classics over time.
Sharad Kapoor: The Actor Beyond The Villain
There were projects such as LOC: Kargil, Lakshya, Tamanna (1997), and Jaani Dushman and Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta, to name a few, where Kapoor showed a different tangent of his acting prowess.
He portrayed real-life hero Major Vijay Bhaskar in J.P. Dutta's LOC: Kargil (2003) and Major Binod Sengupta in Farhan Akhtar's Lakshya (2004), two films that are still considered among the finest war films made.
He played the role of Sajid Khan in Tamanna alongside Paresh Rawal and Pooja Bhatt, which displayed the kind of grounded, dramatic and compassionate characters he could pull off as well.
He also went on to become a part of Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani (2002), which turned out to be a cult classic over time. Then came a stint in the comedy genre, where he starred in David Dhawan's Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta (2001), led by Govinda.
The actor has also been part of a slew of Bengali commercial films, namely Achena Atithi (1997), Parinam (2005), and Wanted (2010).
Some of his lesser-known projects include Inspector Siddiqui in Salman Khan's Jai Ho (2014), and ZEE5's Cabaret (2019) and Jabariya Jodi (2019).
Latest Update
Sharad Kapoor met with a severe leg injury while playing football in Barcelona.
He said, "I went to play football in Barcelona like a fool. There were big players on the team. I thought I was also an intense player. Suddenly I started thinking of myself as Messi. This one guy, his foot touched mine during the game. As soon as his foot touched mine, I understood that it's gonna be a serious injury.”
The recent video where he is seen getting emotional about having his four dogs taken to animal welfare is because it is physically difficult for him to take care of them during his two-month recovery for his broken leg.
He has made a genuine appeal for work across OTT and films to filmmakers once he is further along on his road to recovery, which is expected by January 2027.
He said, "I want to appeal to the centre that I am just looking for good work. And I need your support... A little bit of moral support is also enough for me. I am a brilliant actor, and you know that. For a fact. Money is not the issue."
In a previous video, Sharad Kapoor had shared, “Right now, mera thoda ghar ka situation bhi hai... After this house, when I get my new bungalow, I am going to tell YODA, please give my babies back because I cannot live without them.
He further added how his dogs would be depressed without him and reiterated that there was no case of animal cruelty.
The 50-year-old emphasised, "As an actor, I am such an emotional person. How can we be cruel to someone? We are here to love people and give love to them."
He signed off with the hope that he will once again have his dogs back home when he moves to his new bungalow.
ALSO READ | 'What Happened To You?': Sharad Kapoor's Health Sparks Concern After Viral Video
