(Left) Waheeda Rehman with Shabana Azmi and (above) Aparna Sen directing Soumitra Chatterjee and Waheeda on the sets of 15, Park AvenueShabana during a break between the shots. Pictures by Aranya Sen

Some months on, a two-storeyed house in Salt Lake will perhaps be better known as 15, Park Avenue. For the fictitious address that flits in and out of Meethi?s (the schizophrenic protagonist) mindscape is also where film-maker Aparna Sen is holed up for the second schedule of her English film 15, Park Avenue.

Making way through the portico that is strewn with equipment and paraphernalia, one gets into the drawing room where Sen has her gaze fixed on the monitor.

Keeping a strict eye on the goings-on are acting coordinator Sohag Sen and production designer Bibi Roy.

On the mezzanine floor, Soumitra Chatterjee and Waheeda Rehman are acting out a ?flashback? scene ? the lady of the house draped in a Dhakai sari, bun and bindi; her husband, an armyman, dressed in a moss green housecoat, black wig and moustache.

The first shot in more than 40 years, since the two last shared screen space. ?We did Abhijan together and that was so long ago. We had to shoot in very hot weather in Birbhum and then again at freezing temperatures? I have always admired Waheeda as an actress,? says Soumitra, the hot-tempered Rajput taxidriver in Satyajit Ray?s Abhijan. Waheeda played Gulabi, a prostitute who runs away with him.

?I was so happy to see Soumitra. He came and hugged me. It?s a long time since we met,? says the graceful actress with salt-and-pepper hair. At the peak of her filmi career, Guru Dutt?s chaudhvi ka chand just needed a call from Ray to leave all else and camp in Bengal.

?Ray had written me a letter saying that he wanted to cast me in this role. I just said yes. In fact, I was the first Hindi film actress to work with him. Who would be a fool to say no to him?? she asks with a smile.

In 15, Park Avenue, it?s a combination of the star-director and the brilliant cast that has brought her back to Bengal. ?Shabana and Aparna called me up from Calcutta and offered me the role. I thought with Soumitra, Shabana, Konkona and Rahul Bose as co-actors and Aparna as director, this would be a good team to work with. I had seen Aparna?s 36 Chowringhee Lane and Paroma,? says Waheeda, having finished shooting for Girish Acharya?s Brides Wanted and Deepa Mehta?s River Moon.

Brides Wanted was funny, says Waheeda, where she played a grandmother looking for the perfect girl for her US-returned grandson. ?Sometimes you don?t want to go deep and this film is something like that. My character is very loud and I wear a lot of jewellery with matching saris,? she laughs. ?But in Deepa?s film I had two scenes only. I agreed to it because I do many things on impulse and this is one of those. Also because I like to do small roles but with good directors,? she explains.

Yet, it?s after a long time that the Golden Girl of the Sixties will be seen in quite a handful of films. ?It?s not that I am making a comeback of any sort. I have been doing films on and off,? she clarifies.

Once through with the Calcutta schedule, Waheeda will move on to a different genre of film and a more familiar setting. Shooting commences for Rakesh Mehra?s (of Aks fame) Rang De Basanti, starring Aamir Khan and Soha Ali Khan in the lead. Waheeda plays a mother whose son is in the Air Force.

And when there?s no shooting deadline to meet, a day in the life of Waheeda Rehman would mean running her Mumbai home ? where she has been settled for the past four years ? and catching up with the rest of the world.

?I wake up in the morning and get busy with household chores. I also like to watch movies and go to the theatre. And then there?s Pratham, an NGO with which I am involved in providing primary education to slum children,? she adds.

But is there a friend from the past with whom she is in touch with even now? ?Nanda has been my best friend for over 40 years,? she smiles. ?But everybody is so busy...?

The reverie breaks with someone calling out to her to change costumes for the next shot. It?s rehearsal time with her screen family ? daughters Shabana and Konkona, and husband Soumitra.