‘We still share the same comfort level’

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Farooq Sheikh and Deepti Naval are making a comeback in Avinash Kumar Singh’s film Listen Amaya. Reminiscing about her heydays in the film industry, Deepti credits Farooq for getting her her debut film, Ek Baar Phir.

“Yes I had just returned from New York. I had met Farooq while dubbing a film at N.F.D.C. But as the days went by I just forgot about having met him. Then one day, when I came home, I was informed about two phone calls I had missed and one of them was from Farooq — he had left a message for me about meeting a director named Vinod Pandey. It was Farooq who had recommended me for the film as he too was playing the lead in this film. Ultimately, he couldn’t do the film because of date issues but I had signed on the dotted line. So unquestionably, Faooq is instrumental in getting me my first break.”
Deepti feels that Farooq is a changed man now. “I find a lot of changes in Farooq now as compared to those days — firstly, he has turned round…a roly poly man,” she laughs. On a serious note, she adds, “But working with him is still the same. His jokes, his mannerisms remind me of the ever so fresh and lively Farooq. He reminds me of the good old days and we still share the same comfort level.”
Speaking on the film, Deepti clarifies, “There is no ‘sex’ in the film.” She adds, “It is a unique film based on relationships. I think the year 2013 will witness several small-budget meaningful films that tgot lost in the previous years. My cosy scenes do disturb Swara Bhaskar who plays my daughter in the film merely because in real life too children turn possessive and do not like to share their parents. Especially, if they are nurtured by a single parent.”