Director Samir Karnik notices actor walking past and offers him two roles; Maachis star sets to make Bollywood comeback

Barring a cameo two years ago in kiddie film Maruti Mera Dost, Chandrachur Singh who made his debut in Gulzar's highly acclaimed Maachis (1996) and later acted opposite Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Josh, is planning his comeback to the big screen playing what he does best.

Similar to his role in Maachis, where Singh played a Sikh on the run accused of extremism, the actor will act in a film that is based on the lives of the victims of the Hindu-Sikh riots of 1984.

Entitled Curfew, the film will be directed by Samir Karnik. Singh will play a Sikh residing in Delhi's Chandni Chowk, which went up in flames during the riots. Singh will later be seen in Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

"It's all destiny. If you ask me where I was all these years, I'll say I was right here. I made some wrong career decisions, and signed films that didn't get made or did badly.

During the shooting of Josh in Goa, I dislocated my shoulder. The pain eventually got unbearable and I had to be operated on. Thereafter I couldn't exercise, so I gained a lot of weight. I did have stray releases, but they went unnoticed, " said the soft spoken actor.

The role in Curfew would require a huge amount of preparation from Singh and he's willing to devote time for it. "I've spent a lot of time away from movies. It's time to get back to work. I am trying my best to get back into the groove.

It isn't easy. Luckily, people in the film industry haven't forgotten me, " said Singh, who has also signed on another film with Karnik, Chaar Din Ki Chandni, in which he plays a hotheaded Rajput son of Anupam Kher.

The roles in Karnik's films virtually fell into Singh's lap, when the director was playing cricket, and spotted Singh walking by. Karnik introduced himself to Singh and offered him a role in Curfew and Chaar Din Ki Chandni.

About his role in Nair's project, he said, "I have an interesting role in Mira Nair's film. I approached the casting director, did an audition and I was on."