Shriya Saran: Second time lucky?

That’s what Shriya Saran will be hoping for as she makes a comeback with a Tigmanshu Dhulia film.

Down south, Shriya Saran is as big an actor as you’ll find, having done films with the biggest stars, like Rajnikanth, Nagarjuna and Prabhudheva. But her Bollywood filmography is nothing to write home about, having done duds like Aawarapan (2007), Mission Istanbul (2008) and most recently, Gali Gali Mein Chor Hai.

But the actor is now looking to make a comeback of sorts with a yet-untitled film, which has Tigmanshu Dhulia as the creative director. The film is touted to be a love story set against the backdrop of the gun culture prevalent in the interiors of Uttar Pradesh, and is set to go on floors by November. The film will be produced by Sunit Jawadekar and directed by debutant Karan Butani, who assisted Dhulia in Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster(2011).

Shriya says, “It’s a real, honest story. The director has done a lot of homework and there is a lot of attention to detail.” She will be paired opposite Jimmy Shergill in the film.About picking Shriya as his leading lady,director Karan says, “She plays a pretty village girl. Shriya is big in the south, but hasn’t got her due in Bollywood, maybe because of her choice of films. But she has tremendous potential.” On her part, Shriya doesn’t regret her past choice of Bollywood films: “Sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t. I want to talk about today, not yesterday. I don’t blame anyone.”

Shriya is currently shooting a bilingual (Tamil and Kannada) film called Chandra, where she plays the last princess of Mysore. Next, in Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children, she plays Parvati, the wife of protagonist Saleem Sinai.

On walking the red carpet:
Deepa Mehta’s much awaited Midnight’s Children will be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. “I play the role of Parvati, who is a very strong and significant character. I’m excited to walk the red carpet during the screening of the film,” she says.