After a hiatus, actor to star in Amol Palekar's latest
Antara Mali, who was last seen in Mr Ya Miss five years ago, will return to the big screen in Amol Palekar's And Once Again also starring Rajat Kapoor and Rituparna Sengupta. The movie releases on August 13.

The daughter of B-Town photographer Jagdish Mali said, "People ask me what I was doing all this while and why I stayed away from tinsel town. But I have a life beyond acting."

After Mr Ya Miss, which was also her directorial debut, Antara disappeared from the scene. A year ago she tied the knot with GQ editor Che Kurrien in a hush-hush wedding.

"I can be content doing nothing. I spent a lot of time travelling in France with friends who were making a documentary. Then I got married. I have also been writing. I am looking at a script that I hope I can direct, " she said.

When Palekar approached her for And Once Again, she immediately accepted. "I have been an ardent fan of his movies. I love his kind of cinema, " Antara said.

The director told her she would have to go bald for the role of a Buddhist monk. "I did not think twice. I shaved off my tresses."

She had carried a dozen caps during the shoot schedule in Sikkim. "Initially, I had decided that I wouldn't step out with a tonsured head except to face the camera. But I ended up hardly wearing any headgear. I did not feel awkward being seen bald. The only time I needed a cap was to protect my head from the sun."

Antara was earlier seen in several Ramgopal Varma productions such as Company, Naach and Road.