/> 20 Years after he did Mehul Kumar's eminently forgettable Mere Man Ke Meet and 23 years after his disastrous Bollywood debut as Mumtaz's son in David Dhawan's Andhiyaan, Bengal's only superstar Prasenjit is back in Hindi cinema.

After tremendous persuasion Dibakar Banerjee known to elicit arresting performances from the unlikeliest of actors, has persuaded Prasenjit to return to Bollywood.The Bengali superstar has reluctantly agreed to play a pivotal part in Dibakar's much-discussed political thriller Shanghai.

Though the director is tightlipped about the project and Prasenjit's role ("We'd like to make a grand announcement about it in good time") Prasenjit confides that his role is that of a politician who dies under mysterious circumstances.

And no, it is not the role of a Bengali character.

Says the affable actor who has lately been experimenting with challenging parts, "It's true I play a very important role in Dibakar's film. It's the part of a Socialist. And I have a very important political speech in Hindi at the beginning of the film. Meri Hindi theek-thaak hai.But I will have to work on the nuances."

Prasenjit has been going through the script for Shanghai repeatedly and is deeply impressed by the material.

"I am so glad I'm working with Dibakar.He has been after me to do this film for quite some time now.Earlier I had no dates. But now suddenly Annirudha Roy Chowdhary's film with me has been postponed.So I have the time to do Dibakar's film.It's all destiny, " says Prasenjit who had turned down Sooraj Barjatya's Maine Pyar Kiya.

"Do you know, Sooraj had offered to launch me in Hindi films with Maine Pyar Kiya?But I had just obtained enormous popularity in Bengali with Amar Sangi and was unable to get away. I instead chose Andhiyaan for my Hindi debut.

After that apart from Mehul Kumar's film I stayed away from Hindi films to focus on my Bengali career.

But I did do a beautiful Hindi film directed by Lekh Tandon with Rukhsar as my co-star. That never got released in theatres. There was also another Hindi film Bharat Bhagya Vidhata which I was to do.It got shelved.I thought Bollywood and I don't belong on the same wave-length."

Prasenjit has steered clear from Bollywood for the last two decades. "Very honestly there was no time to even think of a Hindi film. Now I've reached a stage in my career where I don't have to be anxious about the boxoffice. Stardom to ho gaya. Now I'm honing myskills as an actor, seeking out roles that challenge me.That's why I agreed to do Shanghai."

The actor says he has no burning desire to do Hindi film regularly. "But if I get the kind of roles that Irrfan Khan does, I don't mind. Shanghai fascinated me because I had to play a politician who commands such awe and respect that even the prime minister is intimidated by his power.I think Dibakar Banerjee saw me in Gautam Ghose's Moner Manush and decided to cast me."

Though unwilling to talk about Prasenjit's return to Hindi cinema Dibakar Banerjee fianally says, "What I find fascinating about Prasenjit is that he is at the peak of stardom.But he's choosing offbeat roles.

For Moner Manush where he played the spiritual leader Fakir Lalan Shah Prasenjit grew a beard and spent six months in the real Lalan Shah's village. Not many actors would do that."