Kamal Sadanah couldn't make a mark in acting, but he believes that he will make a good film-maker. He has stepped into the field with the re-make of "Victoria No. 203", a superhit movie made under the banner of his father's production company, Angath Arts. Kamal spoke to us about his film, remakes and his switch from acting to film-making.

Q: Do you think that the remake of hit film "Victoria No. 203" will be accepted by today's audience?
A: Nowadays people are ready to watch remakes as that is the trend of the present era of cinema. Had it been made four or five years back people wouldn't have accepted it with the same interest. But now, my anticipation is justified.

Q: Why did you choose this film for remaking?
A: I like the film very much. I must have seen it more than a hundred times. For remaking a movie, one needs to have all the legal rights, which I have for "Victoria No. 203". So I didn't have any problem starting the project. Till a few years back, I had never thought that there will be a trend of remakes in the industry, but it's here now. So, I have a chance to fulfill my dream.

Q: How is your movie different from the original?
A: I have thought of three more characters in addition to the original ones. The first is of Preity, the second one is of Javed Jaffery and the third is of Jimmy Shergill. Jimmy is actually playing the character of Navin Nischal. In the original version, Navin portrayed a playboy, but in my movie Jimmy is a police officer. And my movie has a much better climax than the previous one.

Q: Is there any significant reason for taking Sonia Mehra for the character previously played by Sayera Bano?
A: Frankly speaking, I was completely against taking a newcomer. We started shooting for the film from January 2; only Om Puri and Anupam Kher were selected for Raja and Rana, respectively.

Jimmy was also there for playing the character played by Navin. When we were discussing on the leading lady, Anupam Kher showed me Sonia's photograph. Then I decided on a screen test. Her performance was so good that it took me just three minutes to select her. I am happy that she didn't embarrass me.

Q: It was Amrita Arora whom you had wanted to cast before stumbling upon Sonia. What happened then?
A: Yeah, but there was some contractual problem with her. Nowadays, contracts in Bollywood are similar to those in Hollywood. They include dates and just about everything so that there is no problem later. Amrita was not ready to sign any such contract.

Q: You were an actor, too. Are you going to play any role in the film?
A: (Laughs) Yeah, I am playing the negative role enacted by Ranjit in the original film. Otherwise, we would have had to pay an actor for doing the work. I'm happy to save my money.

Q: Your other film "Karkash" is expected soon. Tell us about that.
A: It's based on women, it shows the problems they are facing in a male-dominated society. I have tried to depict the prowess of women, who balance both home and outdoor work. The 90-minute film will have Anup Soni and Suchitra Pillai in the lead.

Q: Both your movies are women-oriented. Any particular reason behind it?
A: I think women are the most important part of our society. They are not only honourable, but simply cannot be ignored. It's impossible to create anything without them. I'm quite proud of making films on them.

Q: What's the reason for your failure in the field of acting?
A: Besides two to three films, I wasn't offered any good role at all. Most of my movies went unnoticed. At the same time, I signed some movies without thinking on them. When I found out that I was getting mediocre films only, I stopped signing up.

Q: Would you like to mention any film that you regret working in?
A: I don't remember any film that didn't make me profit. Then why should I regret them? -Rajnee Gupta