It's a relief to leave acting behind: Kamal Sadanah

Kamal Sadanah, who has turned director with "Roar - Tigers Of Sunderbans", finds it a "relief" to put his life as an actor behind him to start something afresh.

Kamal, who made his debut as a leading man in 1992 with Rahul Rawail's "Bekhudi", went on to feature in films like "Rang" and "Hum Sab Chor Hain". His acting career never really took off in a big way.

"It's nice to be the painter and not the paint. 'Roar' has consumed my attention for three years. I've watched it grow in front of me just, like my own children," said Kamal, who is married to make-up arist Lisa John.

"If marrying Lisa was the best thing I did, then making 'Roar' would have to rank as the second-best move in my life. It's a relief to leave my acting career behind. My heart was never in acting," he added.

Kamal has had an extensively tragic life. In 1990, when he was just 19 his father, the well-known filmmaker Brij Sadanah of "Victoria 203 fame" shot his wife and daughter. The son was spared. But Kamal has lived with the tragedy all his life and is now geared for his new phase as a director.

The wounds have just about healed though, thanks to his wife and children.

"I've tried to put whatever happened behind me. My wife and my two children have been a great support in the healing process. I got married on the first day of the year 2000 to a make-up lady Lisa. She had never done my make-up, ha ha. But she made-over my life," Kamal said.

He met Lisa at a pub.

"She changed my life. She gave me two beautiful kids who are now 10 and 8. Through them I'm reliving my own lost childhood. I recently took them to Disneyland. I don't know who had more fun. Them or me," he said.

For now, he is excited about "Roar- Tigers Of Sunderban". Kamal says he was fascinated by the whole culture of Sundarbans.

"It is like a whole universe for the animal kingdom. Sundarbans is like our own Amazon. I decided, why not direct a thriller set in Sundarbans?"

It took him three years to complete the movie, the trailer of which was unveiled at an event here recently. And no, the film is not inspired by the success of Ang Lee's "Life Of Pi".

Says the actor-producer (Kamal produced a remake of his father's blockbuster 'Victoria No. 203' in 2007) and now director: "'Life Of Pi' was nowhere on the scene when we started on 'Roar'. Before that, I went to learn direction in New York, came back and started work on this film."