Born in Srinagar (Kashmir), Sanjay spent the first 19 beautiful years of his life there. He is the youngest of three siblings. He has an older brother and sister. His love for the mountains or need just to be close to nature is a result of spending his childhood and growing up years in the beautiful valley. All through school and college life he participated in camping and trekking trips to the Himalayas. Going for long treks for two weeks or more in the mountains was one of his favourite hobbies and as he puts it, ‘it’s like the call of the mountains’ beckoning him.
When he was in class 6, his elder brother Raj introduced him to squash and in just two years time Sanjay was in the Sub Junior Squash team of J&K and later went on to represent the state in Junior national championships as well. When he was in Class VIII, he wanted to be in the Army. Two years later, it was a career in the Navy that he wanted to pursue! By the time he was in Class XII, he decided he wanted to be a sportsman. However, fate had different plans for him. After moving to New Delhi in 1990 Sanjay started modeling. In 1993, after a stint in Garment/Home furnishing business, was the time when he first stepped into the glare of the arc lights.
In an introspective mood, Sanjay sometimes thinks that his joining the film industry has something to do with trying to regain that lost identity when he moved from Srinagar ‘Kashmir’ to Delhi. Sanjay and his family became migrants in their own country and they were called ‘refugees’. “The identity we irrevocably lost, was thanks to gun-toting terrorists who killed my father in Jammu and Kashmir, – and the reason why I along with my family had to leave our home town Srinagar in less than 5 hours with my fathers dead body. The incident, which occurred in 1990 on August 1st, in one moment wiped out 19 years of my life”, recalls Sanjay with a vacant, distant look in his eyes. This move was forced on his family because of the insurgency and terrorism taking over and shattering the tranquility of beautiful Kashmir.
Sanjay moved to Delhi, where his extended family gave him immense support and love. Then started the slow and often painful process of restoring their lives to some semblance of normalcy.Father’s death. Shattered faith. Lost identity. Thrown out of their hometown. He went back to Jammu in 1991 just to complete his graduation. Back in Delhi he worked in an export house, and finally set up his own small business. To supplement his income, Sanjay started modeling and that’s when he moved to Mumbai. Sanjay anchored a travel show and also worked in a T.V. serial in Mumbai. It was the turning point in his professional life as he was accepted and appreciated in the Hindi film industry for his talent and sincerity.
Soon Sanjay started acting in films that were later critically acclaimed and he got the tag of ‘the thinking Actor’. His choice of films set him apart from his contemporaries.Sanjay married his psychologist girlfriend, Ambika from Delhi in November 2001. Sanjay loves both the mountains and the beaches. His favourite holiday destination is Goa. "I become a complete beach bum". He also enjoys traveling and has recently developed a love for photography after his brother gifted him his first Nikon camera. He loves to indulge in his latest hobby, travel photography. "Capturing life and freezing time is exciting".
In his free time he enjoys cooking, watching movies, being with family and friends. He is keenly interested in philosophy and spirituality. Sanjay was introduced to meditation in 1990 and he swears by it. "Each one of us must find our own path", he says.Sanjay became a producer with his first production, “My brother…Nikhil’. Acting and producing at the same time with limited resources was a challenge. After the film’s release he has started taking a personal interest in spreading HIV/Aids awareness.