Rituparna to star opposite Ajay Devgn in Bhandarkar's next

Kolkata: Bengali screen diva Rituparna Sengupta is all set to share screen space with actor Ajay Devgn in Madhur Bhandarkar's upcoming film Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji.

"I am really excited about working in Madhur's next project. Madhur has not explained much about the role I am going to play, but I consider him to be a fantastic director," Rituparna told PTI.

The film, shooting for which has started, also stars Emraan Hashmi and Omi Vaidya of the 3 Idiots fame.

Rituparna, who won the National award for her role in Rituparno Ghosh's Dahan, made her Hindi film debut five years ago with Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh opposite Rajpal Yadav.

The 38-year-old actress said she is looking forward to Bhandarkar's film which deals with a serious topic of human relationships interspersed with comic touches.

Rituparna, who has a balanced number of parallel and commercial films in her kitty, is also excited about veteran actor-director Amol Palekar's English film And Once Again. Slated for release next week, the film has Rituparna playing the main lead. It is an intensely contemplative tale on relationship, capturing the psyche of a man who has lost his wife and child in a violent attack and who faces another dilemma while trying to make things normal, she says.

"For me it's a turning phase to have acted in the film made by a person I admire so much, a person whose comedies I had grown up watching and enjoying. I am very curious to know how the audience reacts to my role in this film. I enjoyed shooting opposite my co-actors like Rajat Kapoor," she said.

Asked if the film's English medium would not limit its reach, Rituparna said, "On the contrary, I look at it in a different way. As this is my first English language film, made by a person of Amolji's stature, it can take me to segments I have not reached so far."