Sanjay Kapoor: Sikkim’s aura made the experience of The Last Hour even more realistic

Sanjay Kapoor sounds upbeat about his upcoming web series The Last Hour, which is a supernatural crime thriller. It has him playing a cop who teams up with a shaman to catch a mysterious killer.

The series, directed by Amit Kumar, also has a slew of established actors such as Raima Sen and Shahana Goswami along with relative newcomers including Karma Takapa and Shaylee Krishen.

OTTplay recently caught up with Sanjay Kapoor to know of his experience of shooting the series.

How was your experience of working in The Last Hour?

Amit is an amazing director; when he narrated the story to me, I got so engrossed with it within the first 10 minutes. We shot in Sikkim and the aura of those places made the experience even more realistic.

You seem to share a lot of screen space with Karma, who plays a Shaman in the series. How was it working with a newcomer?

It was wonderful. People keep asking me, ‘What do you think are the changes now compared to when you started off in the 90s?’ My answer is that now actors have started doing a lot of workshops, before the actual shoot starts. And that enabled Karma and me to spend 10 to 12 days together which made our chemistry even better.

Did you or any member of the team experience something supernatural while filming?

There are people who blindly believe in most of the supernatural stuff. I am not a big believer in these things. But of course, it’s there on the back of our minds, which makes you think about it especially when you are shooting at night. Fortunately, we didn’t experience anything of that sort.

But when I used to shoot in Filmistan in Mumbai, there were rumours that no one should go to a makeup room at night because they would definitely have a supernatural experience (laughs).

The shooting of The Last Hour began in 2019. What caused the delay in the release?

Yes, we finished shooting early last year, but due to the pandemic, the post-production was stretched and that caused the delay. These things aren’t in your control. There are quite a lot of films that have delayed their releases due to the current situation. We are just feeling fortunate that the show is finally happening.

What’s your take on the current evolution of the digital space?

I think it’s a great medium. It has come at a time when we need it the most. It’s a different phase for the entertainment industry. I remember, when I used to live in Chembur in the past and the cassettes of the films started coming, we thought no one would go to theatres then. Then came a time when films were telecast on TV and then there were CDs and DVDs. Now it’s OTT. But watching something on the big screen is a totally different experience. The best thing with OTT is that it gives more opportunities and freedom, in terms of acting and writing.

Can we expect the second season of the show?

Absolutely. I don’t know if Amit has begun writing for another season, but I hope that another season of The Last Hour will be released.