Entertainment - India;Neetu Singh to comeback with Rishi Kapoor

Ashok Rai

At long last, after a break of 26 years, Neetu Singh Kapoor has signed up to act in a movie. And it will feature her as the wife of a mathematics teacher portrayed by real-life husband Rishi Kapoor.

The movie is titled Do Dooni Char. The ultra-selective Neetu has agreed to be in the project after nixing scores of offers down the years. This one’s a feel good movie which will feature her as “a Panju housewife of Delhi Jangpura who’s quite like me, actually,” says the perky actress who was last seen in such movies as Sherni, Ganga Meri Maa, Raj Mahal and Teesri Aankh back in the early 1980s.

Back then
She opted for marriage at the age of 21 to her co-star Rishi Kapoor with whom she had entranced the nation in such delightful entertainers as Raffoo Chakkar, Amar Akbar Anthony and Khel Khel Mein. In sum, she had acted in approximately 55 films, including Do Kaliyan as a child artiste.

An animated Rishi Kapoor is excited about the film which is being produced by Arindam Chaudhary of Planman. It will be directed by Habib Faizal who was working at Yash Raj and earlier as a film assistant director and writer-director of such TV serials as Karina Karina.

The film’s theme is about a maths teacher and his wife who have to deal with various contemporary issues, including inequities in the pay for teachers and the growing up dilemmas of their teenaged children. The teenagers are being currently talent-scouted in Delhi.

Impressed
Rishi Kapoor says that he was gung-ho about the script as soon as Faizal narrated to him over four hours. Faizal had come to meet the Kapoors — via the recommendation of director Siddharth Anand — in the hope of signing up Neetu Singh for the pivotal role of the housewife. She wasn’t sure about returning to the shooting grind again. But her husband said that it was an ideal comeback project for her, and he would be thrilled also to be a part of it.

Faizal had toyed with the idea of casting Juhi Chawla as the teacher’s wife.. but that was only if Neetu had nixed the project. Do Dooni Char will be shot in Delhi from January to February.

Back to the grind
A bubbly Neetu Singh says, “Actually I can’t believe that I’ll be back before the camera. I’m looking forward to it. The role’s the thing.. and the script’s sweet, simple..cute. Also life was becoming much too boring, sitting at home. Friends and fitness.. aur kya? Ranbir’s out of the house, working.. when I told him about Do Dooni Char, he couldn’t stop smiling.. yes ma, go for it. And in Delhi, I’ll be with Riddhima. So see, it’s all fallen into place.”