Veteran actress Rakhee Gulzar has been a part of many memorable films. After continuously working in Hindi and Bengali film industry for over four decades, the senior actress said goodbye to acting in 2003. She was last seen in 2003 in Dil Ka Rishta (Hindi) and Shubho Mahurat (Bengali) and won a National award for the latter film. And now, after 15 long years, she has agreed to appear in a Hindi-Bengali bilingual film, tentatively titled, Mukti or Nirvaan.

Speaking exclusively on her return to acting, the veteran actress, who is known to have turned down numerous offers in recent years, revealed why she agreed to return to acting. “Normally I’d say no to any acting offer, no matter how tempting. But when the director told me that he was doing a screen adaptation of Moti Nandy’s classic novel Bijolibalar Mukti I agreed to make an exception this time.”

The film was originally made in Bengali. But now the filmmakers feel a Hindi version would also be relevant. Explains Raakheeji, “It is a very topical subject. It touches on communal and caste issues and also on the rights and privileges of a 70-year old Brahmin widow. We shot the film in Bengali. But now on the director’s request, we are dubbing the film in Hindi also.”