A great father: Wife on director Sanjay Gupta

Durban, Oct 8 (IANS) A doting husband, a hands-on dad and a complete family man. This is how Sanjay Gupta's wife Anu Lekhi describes the director of "Shootout at Wadala", saying he has not left her wanting for anything.

"He is very family-oriented. He is very home-oriented. He loves doing up his home, loves keeping it clean and beautiful. He loves to look after people and entertain them," Anu, who was accompanying her husband on a holiday here, told IANS in a chit-chat.

It's not that their marriage was a bed of roses - they had their share of problems - but with time, they matured and now enjoy life with their two children, son Shivansh (two-plus) and daughter Dalai (10 months).

Asked about Sanjay's role as a father, she said: "He is a very hands-on father. He was more hands-on with my son than my daughter. He is nervous about handling her because she is so delicate. He loves spending time with the children," she said.

"He is there every morning with them, looking after them and allowing me time to do what I want to do," she said.

Although Sanjay had a troubled childhood, Anu feels he "is going to be a great father".

"Coming from where Sanjay has, and seeing the childhood that he has experienced, I think he is going to make double the effort to give more to his children - not in terms of material things, but in terms of emotion and being there physically," she said.

Dropping Shivansh to playschool is part of Sanjay's daily routine.

"That's his time with his son and he enjoys it. In those aspects, he is a giver," added Anu.

However, when Sanjay is making a movie, he is unable to spend time with the family.

"When he is shooting, he is not there and he felt that more than we do. For the birth of my son, he hadn't started shooting for 'Shootout At Wadala' as yet and he was there all the time.

"But during Dalai he missed out on quite a bit of her upbringing. She was born in January and the film released in May and that was a crucial period for 'Shootout At Wadala'," Anu said, adding that during the lean period they make up for it.

Sanjay and Anu met in college through common friends and married in 1997 after dating for about two-and-a-half-years. Adjustment issues saw them parting in 2003, but they sorted out their differences and remarried in 2009.

What do you appreciate in him the most and what do you dislike?

"He has not left me wanting for anything. Even in our hardest time, I didn't even know we are going through a tough time till he told me much later. he has provided me very well.," said Anu, who is eight years younger than Sanjay.

"On the emotional level, very caring, but he could be more caring. I have kind of come to understand that seeing the background he has, he is limited. These are the things I didn't think about.

"First time around why we separated was because I expected a lot from him as I am a very emotional and romantic person. This time around also, the first two-three years were hard on me because Sanjay as a person is not like that and I didn't understand why he is unable to provide for me in that manner."

"I know he will never leave me wanting for anything. But emotionally I am kind of understanding that he is limited in that aspect. I am hoping his children will bring out what is left wanting in him in a relationship. I am hoping he is going to learn with his kids," said Anu.

Born and brought up in the south, Anu considers herself a south Indian and says that they were not exposed to the glamour world.

"So we have come from a humble background, have got our feet on the ground, I don't have any fancy notions of anything and I am hoping my kids to be like that," she said.

Contented and confident, Anu says life is "much better because of better understanding. And I am hoping we both have matured."

(Arpana can be contacted at arpana.s@ians.in)