TEJ SAPRU, ACTOR HINDI CINEMA

                                                  

TEJ SAPRU ( born 1955)

Tej Sapru is an Indian TV and film actor and the son of stalwart   Hindi cinema actor  Sapru ( Daya Krishen Sapru original Kashmiri name  ). Tej is the brother of  Priti Sapru and  Reema Sapru /Reema Rakesh Nath. Priti is well known Punjabi actress while  Reema is a  noted script and screenplay writer from Bollywood. Tej is an affectionate and caring father, husband and  Maamu (Teju Maamu ) to his nephews and nieces and a friendly and good-at-heart individual.

Tej has acted in about 110 movies while his popular TV shows  are Qubool Hai , Palampur Express ,Saat Phere and Chandragupt Maurya .Tej is happily married to Dhanlakshmi younger sister of noted actress Rekha. He was seen with Kiran Kumar in OM ALLAH while in the comedy, 'Faui Mein Mauji', his co-star was   Rajpal Yadav. He made his first appearance as a child artist in Shaheed (1965). Tej has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malyali, Gujrati, Marathi, Rajasthani, Bengali, Bhojpuri and Punjabi films. Hemvathi  Sapru, his mother has also been a successful actress in Marathi cinema. Recently, my friend  Jugal Kaul, who hosts the popular YouTube show, 'Sheetalnath Conversations ' interviewed him in detail wherein Tej spoke about his father, family, Kashmir and his films.

Tej informs this:-

"I haven't done theatre or any course in acting from any institute. I have only learnt from observation . As  young boy , I was highly impressed with acting style of Shammi Kapoor .My mother  was from Shetty family of Bangaluru. My father was a Kashmiri Pandit. I am a Kashmiri Pandit who loves and likes Kashmir and its culture. Some years back, Preeti( my sister ) and I decided to go to Mattan (Kashmir) to perform Shradha of our father. We went to our Kul-Purohit and saw our family records. We saw family details   in the Bahi. I saw our family tree. I mean family records of my father , grandfather and great-grandfather; Daya Krishen Sapru , Maharaj Krishen Sapru and Jai Krishen Sapru, .We got it updated. It was amazing  to see all this. 

My father suffered a great setback after he produced a film that failed at the box office. He lost his bungalow  that had to be sold to clear debts. We had to shift from a huge bungalow to a small flat. I was a good badminton and cricket player. Before starting acting career,  I joined Union Bank Of India as cashier on sports quota. I still remember my first salary  in the Union Bank of India . It was 426 rupees in 1974  when i joined. That is how life moved  ahead.

My grandfather had moved to Jammu  and later to Lahore. After1947,Papa had to come to Punjab wherefrom he moved to Pune to join films. Papa had some fond memories of Jammu.  Apart from acting, Papa loved music. He taught me to play harmonium and Tabla. Papa used to take me to the studios whereat I  developed my interest in films . Poet Jan Nisar Akhtar ( father of film lyricist Javed Akhtar ) was very close to him. He was a frequent visitor to our house. I have always loved my Papa's role in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, a film in which he conveyed everything through expressions. I also liked my Papa's role in Bahu Begum, a film produced by his friend  Jan Nisar Akhtar. I regret that Papa couldn't see my first film Suraksha. He died the same year at the young age of 62. I inherit family values from him. He was a family man and attached to his brothers and sisters who would be coming and staying with us in Mumbai. My sister Reema was signed by 5 producers at the same time  but unfortunately , she met with an accident that gave her more than 30 stitches.  She became a script writer . Preeti is doing well in Punjabi films.”

(Avtar Mota)

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