Hrithik's really grown up!

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Posted: 18 years ago

That's Shatrughan Sinha's wife Poonam, who's playing mom to Hrithik Roshan. She returns to the silver screen after 30 years with Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodha Akbar

Back to Section Stories Posted On Thursday, March 29, 2007

Ram Kamal Mukherjee

Now: Poonam Sinha

Yesteryear actress Poonam Sinha (wife of actor-turned-MP Shatrughan Sinha) is making a comeback of sorts with Ashutosh Gowariker's magnum opus Jodha Akbar. The actress, who plays Akbar's mother Hameeda Bano, is presently filming in Karjat along with Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai. However, facing the camera after a sabbatical of over 30 years has not been easy for her. "Having been out of this vocation for so many years I feel like a fossil, acting with Hrithik and Ash," she says. She further adds, "I have memories of Duggu (referring to Hrithik Roshan) as a child. It's fantastic to see him as a well-groomed guy."

Interestingly, hubby Shatrughan Sinha's insisted that she takes up the role. "Shatru has been a great support. When I was juggling with the idea of making a comeback he encouraged me," she says. As for her preparations she had to read up history and work on her Urdu diction. She had a tutor coming home and imparting Urdu lessons. "We do speak in chaste Hindi because I hail from Bihar. Since I'm playing Hameeda Bano I need to speak chaste Urdu. Even Ashutosh doesn't know that I kept a tutor who trained me in Urdu," she reveals.

Nevertheless, the actress was quite nervous on the first day of the shoot. "I was a bit nervous. Ashu (referring to Gowariker) is a fantastic director and he wanted me to be casual. The shot went off perfectly."

Poonam in the early days

The actress, however, is more at ease doing her production work. She revived the home banner Shotgun Films with a small budget Mera Dil Leke Dekho, last year. The actress rules out the possibility of other films to follow suit. "I was never looking at making a comeback as an actress. Ashutosh's script overwhelmed me and I just agreed to do it," she says.

FLASHBACK

Poonam Sinha had a relatively short run in the industry. She debuted with a BR Chopra Production followed by Jigri Dost (1969) starring Jeetendra and Mumtaz. She was cast opposite hubby Shatrughan in Sabak (1973).

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