Celina Jaitly: Rituparno Ghosh had called me to cast in a project

MUMBAI: Actress Celina Jaitly made her comeback with Ram Kamal Mukherjee's digital short film "Season's Greetings: A Tribute To Rituparno Ghosh". She says that though she missed out on a chance to work with the iconic Bengali filmmaker, she feels special having got a chance to work in the short film.

Asked if she followed the work of Rituporno, Celina told IANS: "Once, Rituda has called me and wanted to cast me in a project. He did not know I was pregnant with my first set of twins at that time, and it didn't work out. I spoke to him last when his father passed away. It was an intimate conversation. Little did I know he will be leaving for his heavenly abode soon. His last words to me were that I must have the babies safely and that he would like me to stay at the Tolly club whenever we went ahead with a project after the delivery."

She added: "Rituda calling me for a project was beyond my dreams. I had admired him so much that I couldn't believe my ears. Unfortunately, things were not meant to be, until Ram (Kamal Mukherjee) came along with this project. I had goosebumps it's as if things were working from the beyond. I hope Rituda will be happy and satisfied with our subtle tribute. I always pray that he has finally found the acceptance and place of no judgement."

According to the actress, she was a fan of the late National award-winning filmmaker, and his 1997 release "Dahan" is one of her favourite films of Rituparno Ghosh.

"I was in school when 'Dahan' released. I remember being mesmerised with the film and Romita, the character played by Rituparna Sengupta. Little did I know I would play a character named after her years later in a film which is, unfortunately, a posthumous tribute to the legend Rituparno Ghosh," recalled Celina.

Ram Kamal Mukherjee's short film also features Shree Ghatak, Lillette Dubey, and Azhar Khan.

Celina's last released film was "Will You Marry Me?" in 2012. The reason she did "Season's Greetings", she says, is because it was her mother's last wish that she should make a comeback and show people her true worth as an actress.

"It was one of her last wishes that I return to cinema and show people my true talent. She never gave up on me. When our director Ram Kamal Mukherjee narrated the story in Dubai I knew this movie is a calling from beyond. A calling of four very important people in my life who are no more. Ritu Da, My late parents, a mother-figure trans person who is no more. I am very thankful to Ram for making my mother's wish come true," said the actress.

"Season's Greetings" is streaming on ZEE5.