Celina Jaitly: Rituparno Ghosh had called me to cast in a project

Mumbai, April 28 (IANS) Actress Celina Jaitly made her comeback with Ram Kamal Mukherjee's digital short film "Season's Greetings: A Tribute To Rituparno Ghosh". She says that though she missed out on a chance to work with the iconic Bengali filmmaker, she feels special having got a chance to work in the short film.## Asked if she followed the work of Rituporno, Celina told IANS: "Once, Rituda has called me and wanted to cast me in a project. He did not know I was pregnant with my first set of twins at that time, and it didn't work out. I spoke to him last when his father passed away. It was an intimate conversation. Little did I know he will be leaving for his heavenly abode soon. His last words to me were that I must have the babies safely and that he would like me to stay at the Tolly club whenever we went ahead with a project after the delivery."## She added: "Rituda calling me for a project was beyond my dreams. I had admired him so much that I couldn't believe my ears. Unfortunately, things were not meant to be, until Ram (Kamal Mukherjee) came along with this project. I had goosebumps it's as if things were working from the beyond. I hope Rituda will be happy and satisfied with our subtle tribute. I always pray that he has finally found the acceptance and place of no judgment."## According to the actress, she was a fan of the late National award-winning filmmaker, and his 1997 release "Dahan" is one of her favorite films of Rituparno Ghosh.## "I was in school when 'Dahan' released. I remember being mesmerized with the film and Romita, the character played by Rituparna Sengupta. Little did I know I would play a character named after her years later in a film which is, unfortunately, a posthumous tribute to the legend Rituparno Ghosh," recalled Celina.## Ram Kamal Mukherjee's short film also features Shree Ghatak, Lillette Dubey, and Azhar Khan.## Celina's last released film was "Will You Marry Me?" in 2012. The reason she did "Season's Greetings", she says, is because it was her mother's last wish that she should make a comeback and show people her true worth as an actress.## "It was one of her last wishes that I return to cinema and show people my true talent. She never gave up on me. When our director Ram Kamal Mukherjee narrated the story in Dubai I knew this movie is a calling from beyond. A calling of four very important people in my life who are no more. Ritu Da, My late parents, a mother-figure trans person who is no more. I am very thankful to Ram for making my mother's wish come true," said the actress.## "Season's Greetings" is streaming on ZEE5.## Stay tuned...