She breezed into the film industry in Kundan Shah?s Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa in 1993. The film became a box office hit but actress Suchitra Krishnamoorthi, who played Shah Rukh Khan?s love-interest, shied away from the arc lights. After that she was spotted on the social scene with her hubby Shekhar Kapur but not on the big screen. She grins, ?I love it when people recognise me as Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na girl Anna. It was a wonderful experience working with such a talented director and actor. It gave me a different high altogether.?

In spite of the fact that her debut film was a hit and that she?s married to director Shekhar Kapur, there?s surprisingly no publicity buzz surrounding her. But in the last few months she has been particularly busy. At one level, she?s making a Bollywood comeback. An another she has just teamed up with playwright Mahesh Dattani who will direct her new musical Candlelight. Once the musical is ready to be staged ? which will take at least six months ? the two-hour play will be showcased in different cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Calcutta.

So what has been the inspiration for writing this play? ?I am a singer myself and I get inspired by little things in life. This play is very close to my heart and I wrote it when I was staying in London. I didn?t set out initially to write a play but was just putting my thoughts on paper. Once I shifted to Mumbai, I decided to make it a musical and that?s how it all began. But writing the script has been the toughest thing I?ve ever done and today my respect for script-writers has increased tremendously,? she says.

The play is produced by Ashwin Gidwani who became interested in the project and was instrumental in bringing Dattani and Krishnamoorthi together. ?Initially, I was a bit apprehensive as to whether Dattani would be able to do justice to the play. But after interacting with him, I was sure that only he could direct this musical,? she says. The play is still in its initial stages as both Krishnamoorthi and Dattani are scouting for fresh talents. ?We are organising workshops and auditions to test the talent of newcomers. So it?s very early to talk about the entire cast. There are seven main characters and I?m playing the main lead in it.?

Though many were surprised by the fact that Suchitra will not direct Candlelight, she says that it was not something she wanted to do ?Direction is not easy. I don?t think I can don the director?s cap, as it requires immense hard work. It also means coordinating constantly with the entire cast. From now on it?s up to Mahesh how he visualises this project.?

Revolving around a singer, the musical set in Mumbai and London is largely about the music industry. It?s the story, which deals with the heroine?s journey in life and her trials and tribulations. That?s all she?ll reveal about the plot. Candlelight is not all music, as it will also have dialogues in the due course. ?It?s a mix of drama and comedy together. It will also have the usual share of song and dance sequences that audiences will like,? she says.

Suchitra is also proud of her movie comeback role in My Wife?s Murder directed by G.G Philips under Ram Gopal Varma Productions that?s scheduled for launch in the next few months. She?s gushingly enthusiastic about the role which is her first after a break of 12 years. ?I play a middle-class wife who?s trapped by her own frustrations. This woman is a suspicious lady, who distrusts her husband all the while and makes his life hellish. It?s a thriller that?s wonderfully made and has some fine twists and turns,? she says. Her co-star is Anil Kapoor, who she can?t praise enough, and she also liked her experience with the cast and crew. ?I got a lot of support from Ram Gopal Varma and all the film members.?

She?s not in any hurry to appear in more movies. She wants to take things gradually. ?I don?t want to do films for the sake of doing them. I?m taking my own time and if good roles come my way, I?ll give them a shot.? The actress says she?s never worried about ?what might have been,? she just gets along with life.

One reason she?s not on a movie signing spree might be because there are so many other things happening in her life. She?s also looking forward to the launch of both of her art exhibition and poetry book this July. Two of her poems were published in the book, The Dreamer and Other Stories, which features poems and short stories by different writers and was released by President Abdul Kalam in New Delhi six months ago.

The poetry is an outgrowth of the lyric writing that she started after turning singer with Dole Dole (1995) and following it up with Dum Tara (1996). She penned the lyrics for her third album A-Ha (1998). According to Suchitra, her initiation into the creative world of composing has been a ?thrilling and exhilarating? experience. ?I?d always been very excited about the whole creative process.? At the same time, she?s modest about her talents. ?I don?t think I?m a great composer but the fact I can create something is a nice feeling,? she says candidly.

Painting is another passion she does to satisfy her creative urges that she only took up seriously recently ? in fact September 27, 2004, to be exact, she recalls. ?I was drawn to painting from a really young age but never really thought of painting on a canvas. You can say it happened just like that and so far I?ve have painted 76 canvases,? she says. ?It was when the canvases started piling up that I decided it was time to hold an art exhibition because my house was starting to look like an art museum,? she laughs. Titled ?Faith?, Suchitra?s art exhibit opens at the Museum Gallery, Mumbai in mid-July. With her poetry, singing, lyric writing, painting plus her return to the movies, Suchitra has all the creative bases covered. And she?s clearly aiming to be a Renaissance woman!