Deepti Naval, Farooq Sheikh reunite after 26 years

Deepti Naval, Farooq Sheikh return to screen for Listen Amaya, actor duo play middle-aged parents. With the same ingredients of humour, romance and drama thrown in equal measures in Listen Amaya, the duo is hopeful to rekindle the romance onscreen.

Deepti Naval surely has her hands full. Currently doing the rounds of Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan to promote her latest anthology of short stories, The Mad Tibetan — Stories From Then And Now, the actor clarifies that she has no intention of quitting cinema. “I haven’t taken a break for a long time,” she rues, adding, “This year itself, there were Tell Me O Kkhuda, Rivaaz and Bhindi Baazar.”

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She was last spotted as an abandoned wife and mother to Farhan Akhtar in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. The disheartening part for yesteryear’s poster girl of parallel cinema, however, is that most independent films do well on DVDs, but not in cinemas. “Most of them go as soon as they hit the screen,” laughs off Deepti, referring to her 2010 film, Memories In March.

Recently having finished shooting for another such independent film, titled Listen Amaya, Deepti reveals that this is one project she’s excited about. “I’ll be working opposite Farooq Sheikh after 26 years. We play a middle-aged couple in Delhi,” she reveals about the family drama directed and produced by debutante film couple Geeta Singh and Avinash Kumar Singh.

Says Farooq, “I have great admiration for Deepti as an actor. This film is special for us because it has a brilliant script and sees the two of us together after many years. But for us, it’s not about picking up the threads, since Deepti and I never felt that we lost the ties over the years.” The film is slated to release early next year.

Deepti’s directorial debut, Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Chaar Aane Ki Baarish, which has won accolades at the international festive circuit, will also be released around the same time in March 2012.

Deepti-Farooq’s Famous films

Chashme Baddoor (1981)

Saath Saath (1983)

Ek Baar Chale Aao (1983)

Katha (1983)

Rang Birangi (1983)

Kisi Se Na Kehna (1983)

Faasle (1985)