"I took a long time to get over Shraddha"

As a teenager, Ninad Kamat stole hearts with his heartwarming performance in Campus. A decade later, Ninad is an established actor and voice over artiste. He opens his heart to Prashant Golecha for the first time on his intense relationship with Shraddha Nigam and career. I, me, myself I am humble, workaholic and have a good sense of humour. I can be short tempered when provoked. I matured quite early in life because of personal circumstances and became the bread winner of the family. Touch wood, opportunities came my may quite easily. On career My mother was an accomplished singer and my father used to act on stage in Karnataka.I guess the acting seeds were sown in me long ago! I initially wanted to become a singer but was recommended to do theatre in Mithibai College in Mumbai. That was the turning point. I got the best actor award in college. I went for the auditions for Campus and saw a thousand people there. Sanjeev Bhattacharya selected me from the lot. After Campus on Zee, I did Ahankar on DD followed by Sailaab, Teacher and then Gudgudee on SAB TV, which was a comedy role. I did a serious role in Astitiva Ek Prem Kahani and now I am doing only Home Sweet Home on Zee Smile. I have done films like "Tunnu Ki Tinna where I played "Chikna Tapori". I have done wide variety of roles in films like Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, Zeher, Parineeta, Dus, Virudh and now, Saade Saat Phere. On being an established voice over artist I got my first dubbing assignment for the Hindi version of Jurassic Park. I did a lot of commercials as a voice over artiste - right from Surf Excel, Rin and Cadbury to Close Up toothpaste. I even dubbed for Wills Smith in the Hindi version of "Men in Black". On his long relationship with Shraddha Nigam I knew her from our college days, as we were part of the same drama team. We were serious about each other for nearly eight years. But with the passage of time, distance started creeping in between us. I was emotionally down and very depressed for a long time. It was my friend who supported me, in spite of having a boyfriend herself. We became very close and finally married two years ago. Perhaps, I wasn't clear about Shraddha. I was confused. But she was clear that she didn't want me in her life anymore. The realization that our relationship was over came in the form of people's questions, who started asking me 'how is your ex-girlfriend?'. I came to terms with reality and moved on. Whatever happens, happens for the best. Love after marriage My wife Priya Mayekar is a singer as well as a voice over artiste and that's how I met her professionally. Over a cup of coffee in a casual conversation after one year of separation from Shraddha, the topic of marriage came up between us and frankly, it took both of us by surprise! We took a couple of months to decide. Looking back, it was the best decision we could have taken - we are so compatible. I could not have asked life for a better friend cum wife. My wife along with her sister Prachi have sung the title song of Munna Bhai MBBS along with Vinod Rathod. My wife is also one of the channel voices for Zee TV in promos, time announcement and also for Disney channel. Spirituality and God Whatever my success is, it's God given. I am a big Shiva bhakt. It is a sheer co-incidence that my character name in Campus was "Shakti". The play, which got me recognition, was "Mahakal". I believe in my inner voice, which guides me. I absolutely believe in gut feeling and intuition. Future Plans I am concentrating on roles in films wherein I can contribute to the film. Every TV actor has the ambition of doing films as films still have charisma, don't they?