Never say never

Widely adored heroines, who quit the scene for marriage, are on the verge of returning to show business, reports Indranil Roy.

Practically, every day there's a buzz about a comeback..then silence. Either way, at least three movie heroines who gave up on the lights-action-camera career, are on the eve of making a comeback – with a film that justifies their return to the studios from the home and hearth.

We're talking Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Karisma Kapoor and Sridevi Kapoor, of course. Since their return movie will be under sharp scrutiny, all three are playing it safe currently.

Constant reports about the comebacks of Raveena Tandon-Thadani and Sonali Bendre-Behl  are amounting to zilch currently. "Not interested!" says yesterday's mast mast Raveena instantly, now a mother of Rasha, a 18-month-old girl. Sonali has a one-year-old son Ranvir, and runs a mile if she's ever asked about acting.

Twinkle Khanna, mother to four-year-old Aarav, also seems to have called it quits for keeps..unlike mother Dimple Kapadia who had returned to the screen with Zakhmi Sher (ugh) and Saagar (wow) after a decade-long intermission since Bobby.

The fact that it's only the women who have to go through the mandatory break – after marriage – is a lamentable given in the male-driven film industry. It's the rare Juhi Chawla who returned to the movies quickly enough with, My Brother Nikhil, after a flash of domesticity. 

Kajol, a mother of two-and-half-year-old Nysa stayed away from 35 mm-land for four years after Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham. Her return in Fanaa demonstrated that a gifted artiste can never resist the camera.

In the any-day-now scenario, the Colorado-based Madhuri Dixit (mother to three-year-old Arin and 18-month-old Rayan) seems to be poised for a comeback with a Yash Chopra project with Shah Rukh Khan – which is being denied by the Yashraj banner, paranoid about revealing their star casts.

La Dixit's secretary Rakeshnath aka Rikku, too, goes into the denial mode as he states, "I find it really funny that the media and the film industry keep speculating about Madhuri's return in a Yash Chopra film. On the contrary, every filmmaker, except Yashji, has approached Madhuri for a film. We are extremely keen to work with him once again after Dil To Pagal Hai but that's it. She's not even doing (cinematographer-director) Ashok Mehta's film..I don't know who makes up such stories."

Fact or fiction, Madhuri Dixit was said to be toying with the idea of reappearing in the movies with a remake of Mother India to be directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. Her name was mentioned, too, vis-à-vis the biopic of the legendary painter Raja Ravi Varma, being directed by Shaji Karun. None materialised. Cryptically Rakeshnath states, "We are planning something very big with Madhuri, when we are ready we will let you know." Thank you.

On the Karisma Kapoor front, insiders claim that Aditya Chopra had offered her a Yashraj film but nothing has been concretized yet. She was to appear on the Jhalak Dhiklaja TV show but since there were "fee problems", Shilpa Shetty was penciled in as replacement. Karisma's Biwi No 1 director David Dhawan states, "I have no plans to re-introduce Lolo or Raveena. But surely, I'd love to work with them anytime."

Karisma, mom to 18-month-old Samaira, reports insist, has shifted based from New Delhi to Mumbai, a ritzy high-rise next to Mehboob studio.

Sridevi's tele-debut with the serial Malini Iyer was to be offset with a Mr India sequel produced by Boney Kapoor. To that Anil Kapoor responds, "The sequel is 100 per cent on, right now it's in the research and development stage..Sridevi can return to the movies the day she decides to. She's looking more beautiful than she ever did before..have you seen her in a recent ad, it was as if she had never gone away for a minute."

And we second that.