Priyanka Trivedi may not have had a great comeback post-marriage and motherhood but now the actress is hopeful about repeating the Saathi magic with Jeet, six years on. She spoke to t2 from Bangalore, where she lives with her Kannada actor husband Upendra and two kids, about her second innings in Tollywood…

You will work opposite Jeet again after six years...

Yes, we did Saathi and then Sangi together. After that I got married and then we didn’t work for a long time. There was a lot of speculation in the industry that we were not on talking terms, that we won’t work together again. We used to laugh at it all. We are very good friends off screen and were waiting for the right script. We are now working in Shiboprasad Mukherjee’s film, tentatively titled Hello Memshaheb. I am very excited and hopeful that we will be able to create the Saathi magic again.

Who are the other heroes you are offered roles with now?

Everyone from Bumbada (Prosenjit) to newcomers. Everyone is a newcomer at some point. When I did Saathi Jeet too was a newcomer.

Your comeback film Agnipariksha was not received well...

No, not really; the critics liked it. But the film did not run; maybe the audience did not like the story. It was a performance-oriented film. Besides, it was special because Agnipariksha was the first film in which I was paired opposite Bumbada.

You got married at the peak of your career. What prompted the comeback?

It’s not a comeback. It’s just that I took time off to have my babies. Plus, I was always in touch with the industry. My brother Vivek Trivedi is working in Tollywood and there were always offers. I knew that I was still a happening star, people wanted me. My husband is a Kannada star, so we are always in touch with films.

Post marriage, what kind of offers do you?

The same as I used to get before marriage — the glam girl roles. I did Amaar Pratigya opposite Priyanshu (Chatterjee) recently. But now I want to do something different. Recently I met Rituparno Ghosh. I am very keen to work with him. I have done films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and also Hindi — I have done a couple of Bollywood films like Mujhe Meri Biwi Se Bachao opposite Arshad Warsi, Soutela with Mithun Chakraborty and Guru Mahaguru opposite Mukul Dev. I have explored both worlds. I have been in Tollywood for 10 years now. I began with Basu Chatterjee’s Hothat Brishti and now I want to be part of good cinema, as I don’t want to do more than two-three films a year.

How serious are you about your career?

I am very serious. Of course, my priorities are my husband and my two kids Ayush and Aishwarya. But films are an important part of me and I enjoy acting. I got married in December 2003; Upendra and I had a two-year courtship. His parents were eager to see us married. It’s also a double treat for me as I get to visit my family in Calcutta. My mom takes care of my kids and I can concentrate fully on my films. The only thing is that I need to finish shooting within a particular period because I can’t keep travelling from Bangalore to Calcutta.

What about doing intimate scenes?

I would only like to be part of films that I can watch with my family. I cannot let them down by doing something that would raise eyebrows.

What are your forthcoming films?

Aparadhi with Bumbada is on the floors. Golmaal, again with Bumbada, is ready for release. Then there’s Hello Memshaheb. There are a few more offers but it’s too early to talk.

What does your husband have to say about you as an actress?

He is very supportive. I have acted in many Kannada films with him. I guess he likes me as an actress! I will soon do a film opposite him in our home production; I guess that says it all. Besides, Upendra has watched the songs of many of my Bengali films as he doesn’t have the time to sit through the whole film. But he is very interested in Bengali culture and is a big fan of Satyajit Ray.