I missed being an actor: Pallavi Joshi

New Delhi, April 4 (IANS) Actress Pallavi Joshi, who was last seen in Marathi film 'Rita' in 2009, is ready for her comeback with her husband's directorial venture. She says she missed being an actor and was extremely nervous while shooting for 'Buddha in a Traffic Jam'.

'I benefited in more ways than one by doing this film, both personally and professionally. When I started with the process, right from reading the script, preparing for the character, styling, till reaching the sets, wearing make-up and costumes and actually shooting in front of the camera, I realised how much I missed being an actor,' said Pallavi, who is married to filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri.

The actress was all smiles while she was on the sets of the movie, in which she plays a potter, and wife to veteran actor Anupam Kher.

'I had kept all these wonderful feelings bottled up inside me, and now they just gushed out. So, I must have been the only person on sets to have a smile plastered on my face 24x7. It may have looked pretty moronic to the unit-hands. But it was actually glee that manifested in continuous grins,' she said.

Pallavi says working in her husband's directorial venture is a special experience for her.

'This is the first time that I am doing a film with my husband. This is the first time after my children were born (read 12 years) that I did a full-fledged outdoor. It was also the first time that Vivek and I have spent time alone together minus kids,' she recalled.

The national award winning actress mostly played supporting roles on big screen in films like 'Saudagar' and 'Tehelka'. In 1996, she featured in Shyam Benegal's 'The Making of the Mahatma'.

She won the National Award for 1992 movie 'Woh Chokri'.

But Pallavi was a big name on small screen and is best remembered for shows like 'Justujoo' and 'Alpviram'. As a host, she has done shows like Zee TV's 'Antakshari' and 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Marathi'.

She says facing the camera after a hiatus was not easy.

'When we started, Vivek was clear that he did not want stereotypical, anticipated performances that are well timed. He wanted us to just go with the flow. Maybe it would have been a piece of cake for me, if I was working all along. But this long hiatus away from the camera had made me unsure of my capabilities of delivering the correct nuances,' she said.

However, Pallavi says she tried to bring freshness to her craft for the film.

'I tried doing different things, completely reworked my timing, tried different variations to get the correct mature-young attitude, took cues from my younger and more contemporary co-stars.'

'It was almost like going back in time for me to my first few films, where I was still unsure of myself and used to get these unbelievable highs when people who mattered appreciated my work,' she added.

The actress admits she is now ready to take on more acting assignments.

'Now my kids are at an age where they won't miss their mother so much. In fact, it's party time for them when I am away. So, in my mind it seems like a coming out for me,' she said.