Arpita, who was a chief contender to Tollywood’s heroine no. 1 title before she married Prosenjit and settled for domesticity, is returning to films with a “social thriller” to be directed by cinematographer-turned-filmmaker Avik Mukhopadhyay.

The cast of Ekti Tarar Khonje includes Ankur Sharma (who had done Naseeruddin Shah’s Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota), Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Rudranil Ghosh, Biplab Chatterjee and Dibyendu (Chunilal in Dev D).

Arpita plays a suburban girl who comes to Calcutta looking for a job and then gets caught up in an “incident involving the protagonist” (Ankur).

“I know Arpita is a very able actress because I have done ad films with her and also Rituparno Ghosh’s Utsab. But I didn’t know that she was interested in returning to films. We came to know when Prosenjit told us,” says Avik, the DoP of films like Chokher Bali and Bunty Aur Babli.

Raima Sen and Koel Mullick had been offered the role before Arpita, so Avik is now working in a few changes to make it a perfect fit for Arpita.

“We will incorporate Arpita’s looks and behaviour.... I don’t believe in holding workshops before shooting and since Arpita is a very spontaneous actress I feel workshops will kill her spontaneity,” says Avik.

Ekti Tarar Khonje will be Avik’s first directorial film in Bengali. Antaheen maker Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury is the man backing the project.

“Avik and I are old friends and both of us have worked with Arpita when she had started out as a model. We are getting together for a very interesting film,” says Aniruddha.

Her story

Arpita had distanced herself so much from showbiz that she has to rack her brains now to recall the last film she had shot. “I think it’s a film by Anup Sengupta which had got stuck because of some technical problem and never got released,” she says.

So, what prompted the Tollywood star wife to revive an acting career she had abandoned about six years ago? “I realised that there was some kind of a disquiet within me as I wasn’t fulfilling a passion of mine, which is acting. So, PC (Prosenjit Chatterjee) and I decided that I would get back into films.... I will be able to make my family happy only when I am happy and my family is very important to me,” she explains.

It means Arpita will take one step at a time, pick and choose from the films that will come her way and focus only on “good cinema”.

“I am not in the race to do the most number of films and I am open to both parallel and commercial films,” she says.

Ekti Tarar Khonje fell into her lap quite by chance and Arpita is only too happy to have got the “right project” for her relaunch. “I play Rani in the film, an urban girl who comes to the city to do something. There’s her personal journey too, which progresses along with the film.... I have never done this kind of a role before. Besides, this middle-of-the-path cinema didn’t exist when I was in films. So Ekti Tarar Khonje is very exciting for me!” she says.

Her busy star hubby has taken on the role of her guide. “PC told me that I would have to stay fit if I am serious about getting back into films. So I started gymming under a trainer and I am also on a diet,” says Arpita.

Though looking her best ever — she is flaunting porcelain skin and a great shape — Arpita is a tad jittery about facing the camera after so long. “I am quite certain that I have forgotten everything about acting but Tony (Aniruddha) and Avik are not listening to me at all! I am a little nervous,” she smiles.

But it could be just a matter of days before offers start pouring in to cast the star couple together. “Yes, why not? If the content is good, we may do a film together!” she says.