# Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans
**Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans** is a 2014 Hindi-language Indian action-adventure film directed by [Kamal Sadanah](https://www.edgepedia.org/kamal-sadanah) in his directorial debut, in which a commando team enters the Sundarbans mangrove forest to hunt a white tigress that killed a wildlife photographer, and the hunters become the hunted.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/roar_tigers_of_the_sundarbans) It was produced by Abis Rizvi through Abis Rizvi Films and released in India on 31 October 2014.[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans/movie-review/44982047.cms)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 31 October 2014 (India), Hindi language, 2 hours 3 minutes, action adventure[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans/movie-review/44982047.cms) |
| Director / producer | Kamal Sadanah's directorial debut; produced by Abis Rizvi (Abis Rizvi Films)[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans/movie-review/44982047.cms) • [3](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans-has-800-vfx-shots/articleshow/44813982.cms) |
| Premise | After a white tigress kills his photojournalist brother, Pandit (Abhinav Shukla) leads a commando team into the prohibited core area of the forest for revenge[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans/movie-review/44982047.cms) |
| Visual effects | Over 800 VFX shots by Anibrain, with about 300 artists working roughly a year; 80% of tiger footage shot with real tigers trained in Los Angeles[3](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans-has-800-vfx-shots/articleshow/44813982.cms) • [4](https://animationxpress.com/latest-news/roaring-vfx-by-anibrain-brings-tigers-alive-on-your-nearest-screens/?noamp=mobile) |
| White tiger device | The tigress was filmed as a regular orange tiger and converted to white with CGI, although no white tigers have been spotted in the Sundarbans[5](https://www.filmfare.com/reviews/movie-review-roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans-7592.html) • [6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/roar-tigers-of-sundarbans/articleshow/44946289.cms) |
| Reception | Times of India critic rating 2.0/5 and user rating 2.3/5 (345 votes); aggregate reception described as predominantly negative[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans/movie-review/44982047.cms) • [7](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/roar/) |
| Commercial result | Gross USA box office of $97.9K; Rotten Tomatoes listed 0 Tomatometer reviews and a 45% Popcornmeter from 50+ ratings[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/roar_tigers_of_the_sundarbans) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Uday, a wildlife photographer working in the Sundarbans, rescues a white tiger cub from a poacher's trap and brings it to his guest house; the cub's mother, a white tigress, tracks it down and kills him.[8](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/movie-review-roar-sundarbans-has-beauty-of-the-tiger-and-wilderness-225348-2014-10-31) His brother Pandit ([Abhinav Shukla](https://www.edgepedia.org/abhinav-shukla)), a commando, forms a team and enters the prohibited core area of the forest to avenge the death, aided by the local guide Madhu (Pranay Dixit) and the tracker Jhumpa (Himarsha V).[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans/movie-review/44982047.cms) The team runs short of resources in the dense mangrove forest, is pursued by the local poacher Bheera (Subrat Dutta), and faces the tigers in a survival test in which the hunters become the hunted.[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans/movie-review/44982047.cms) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/roar_tigers_of_the_sundarbans)
The cast also includes [Nora Fatehi](https://www.edgepedia.org/nora-fatehi) as CJ, Achint Kaur as the forest warden, Ali Quli Mirza as Hero, Aaran Chaudhary as Sufi, and Varinder Singh Ghuman as Cheena.[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3796006/fullcredits/)
## Production
**Shooting in the Sundarbans.** Sadanah and Rizvi made three scouting trips to select locations, and the film was shot on location in the Sundarbans, including the Bangladesh side.[6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/roar-tigers-of-sundarbans/articleshow/44946289.cms) • [10](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/movie-review-roar-the-tigers-of-the-sundarbans-makes-little-sense-225130-2014-10-30) The tide rises every six hours and covers 30% of the land mass, so the crew could shoot a location one day at low tide and find it flooded the next; tiger pugmarks appeared around the set and crocodiles were spotted in the canals.[11](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/kamal-sadanah-with-roar-weve-realised-that-if-you-can-dream-it-you-can-film-it/articleshow/44971555.cms) A saltwater crocodile was spotted in the canal in which Himarsha V had to swim for a scene.[6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/roar-tigers-of-sundarbans/articleshow/44946289.cms)
**Visual effects.** Because the film contains over 800 VFX shots, Sadanah and Rizvi took a visual effects course before principal photography to learn what footage the effects work would require.[12](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/did-you-know/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbanss-directors-take-visual-effects-course/articleshow/44899476.cms) The effects were executed by the studio Anibrain, which had previously worked on Hollywood films including *Harry Potter*, *Resident Evil: Retribution*, and *Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance*.[6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/roar-tigers-of-sundarbans/articleshow/44946289.cms) Its founder Jesh Krishna Murthy said the hardest task was building a convincing CGI tiger, with about a year spent on its muscles, fur, and animation, using Maya, Nuke, Adobe Photoshop, and Pixar's RenderMan; real tigers were used where possible and CGI where they could not be.[4](https://animationxpress.com/latest-news/roaring-vfx-by-anibrain-brings-tigers-alive-on-your-nearest-screens/?noamp=mobile) About 80% of the tiger footage used real tigers trained in Los Angeles.[3](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans-has-800-vfx-shots/articleshow/44813982.cms)
**Aerial and action work.** A helicam, a remote-controlled mini helicopter, captured aerial shots and action sequences; the aerial cinematographers Ville Hyvönen and Kristjan Tiimus were flown in from Helsinki.[13](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/screen/flying-high-12/) The most notable helicam shot was a "time slice" frozen moment during the boat attack, in which tigers leap onto a boat; since a full 90-camera rig could not be taken onto the water, the crew manipulated camera speed and staged the actors' reactions to obtain the effect.[13](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/screen/flying-high-12/) The director of photography was [Michael Watson](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-watson), the action director was Allan Amin, the original score was by John Stewart, and the sound design was by Resul Pookutty.[14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UO6yxsTzAU) A live orchestral recording for the background was made in Budapest.[3](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans-has-800-vfx-shots/articleshow/44813982.cms)
The first look was launched by [Salman Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/salman-khan) at an event in Mumbai on 31 July 2014, ahead of the 31 October release.[15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nagOqOcL2Q)
## Reception
Critical reception was predominantly negative, with reviewers citing weak storytelling, poor direction, underdeveloped characters, and amateurish acting.[7](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/roar/) Renuka Vyavahare of *The Times of India* gave 2.0 out of 5, calling the story excessively weak and the premise illogical, while crediting the sound effects, background score, visual effects, and aerial cinematography with creating a tense mood.[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans/movie-review/44982047.cms) Suhani Singh of *India Today* wrote that the animals trumped the human performers and that the filmmakers had invested more in visual effects than in an engaging story, though she called the [National Geographic](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-geographic)-like wildlife shots and wide views of the Sundarbans worth a watch.[10](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/movie-review-roar-the-tigers-of-the-sundarbans-makes-little-sense-225130-2014-10-30) [Saurabh Dwivedi](https://www.edgepedia.org/saurabh-dwivedi), also of *India Today*, called the film a "good attempt" and a fresh experiment for Bollywood while judging the story weak.[8](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/movie-review-roar-sundarbans-has-beauty-of-the-tiger-and-wilderness-225348-2014-10-31) Rachit Gupta of *Filmfare* called it an unintentionally hilarious creature feature with superlative special effects and camera work comparable to a big-budget Hollywood film.[5](https://www.filmfare.com/reviews/movie-review-roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans-7592.html)
On Rotten Tomatoes the film had no Tomatometer reviews and a 45% Popcornmeter score from more than 50 verified user ratings; its gross at the United States box office was $97.9K.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/roar_tigers_of_the_sundarbans) It later became available to rent or buy on Prime Video, with a streaming release date listed as 31 December 2019.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/roar_tigers_of_the_sundarbans)
## The Sundarbans setting
The film is set in the Sundarbans, the mangrove delta across [West Bengal](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-bengal), India, and Bangladesh that is the world's largest mangrove forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1987, and home to the Royal Bengal tiger.[16](https://culture.gov.in/sundarbans-national-park) Sadanah said he chose the subject because Bollywood had not recently made animal-centered films and the Sundarbans had not been seen in commercial cinema.[11](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/kamal-sadanah-with-roar-weve-realised-that-if-you-can-dream-it-you-can-film-it/articleshow/44971555.cms) The film's use of a white tigress drew criticism on factual grounds: reviewers noted that no white tiger has been spotted in the Sundarbans, and the white animal was produced by converting footage of a regular orange tiger with CGI.[6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/roar-tigers-of-sundarbans/articleshow/44946289.cms) • [5](https://www.filmfare.com/reviews/movie-review-roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans-7592.html) The film also presents a theory that Sundarbans tigers become man-eaters because bodies from the Ganga and after cyclones float into the region and starving animals settle for them.[10](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/movie-review-roar-the-tigers-of-the-sundarbans-makes-little-sense-225130-2014-10-30)
## References
1. [Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/roar_tigers_of_the_sundarbans)
2. [Movie Review: Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans, The Times of India (Renuka Vyavahare)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans/movie-review/44982047.cms)
3. [Roar: Tigers Of The Sundarbans has 800 VFX shots, The Times of India (Ankur Batra)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans-has-800-vfx-shots/articleshow/44813982.cms)
4. ['Roar'ing VFX by Anibrain brings tigers alive on your nearest screens!, AnimationXpress (Niyati Handa)](https://animationxpress.com/latest-news/roaring-vfx-by-anibrain-brings-tigers-alive-on-your-nearest-screens/?noamp=mobile)
5. [Movie Review: Roar - Tigers Of The Sundarbans, Filmfare (Rachit Gupta)](https://www.filmfare.com/reviews/movie-review-roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbans-7592.html)
6. [Roar - Tigers of Sundarbans: Trivia, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/roar-tigers-of-sundarbans/articleshow/44946289.cms)
7. [Roar (2014) Movie Review, TheReviewMonk](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/roar/)
8. [Movie review: Roar has the beauty of the tiger and wilderness, India Today (Saurabh Dwivedi)](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/movie-review-roar-sundarbans-has-beauty-of-the-tiger-and-wilderness-225348-2014-10-31)
9. [Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans (2014) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3796006/fullcredits/)
10. [Movie review: Roar makes little sense, India Today (Suhani Singh)](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/movie-review-roar-the-tigers-of-the-sundarbans-makes-little-sense-225130-2014-10-30)
11. [Kamal Sadanah: With Roar, we've realised that if you can dream it, you can film it, The Times of India (Eepsita Guha)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/kamal-sadanah-with-roar-weve-realised-that-if-you-can-dream-it-you-can-film-it/articleshow/44971555.cms)
12. [Roar: Tigers Of The Sundarbans's directors take visual effects course, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/did-you-know/roar-tigers-of-the-sundarbanss-directors-take-visual-effects-course/articleshow/44899476.cms)
13. [Flying high, The Indian Express (Geety Sahgal)](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/screen/flying-high-12/)
14. [Roar - Tigers Of The Sundarbans, Official Theatrical Trailer, Abis Rizvi Films (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UO6yxsTzAU)
15. [Roar: The Tigers of Sundarbans, Full Movie Special Screening (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nagOqOcL2Q)
16. [Sundarbans National Park, Ministry of Culture, Government of India](https://culture.gov.in/sundarbans-national-park)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2010s › Hindi films of 2014*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license