"Deepti and I had acted together in 'Chashme Buddoor', 'Saath Saath', 'Katha' and 'Faasle' among others and all the movies were well received by the audience, but can't say why it took such a long time to cast us together!" Farooq told PTI over phone from Mumbai.
The duo, a hit pair in the early '80s in arthouse of projects, will be again seen together in debutante director Avinash Singh's 'Listen Amaya' precisely after 28 years.
The film centres around a relationship between a middle-aged widow, essayed by Deepti, and her daughter, played by Swara Bhaskar of "Tanu Weds Manu" fame and what happens when the mother falls in love with a 60-year-old retired photographer, played by Farooq.
Asked if he had any misgiving about turning up in a project of a first-time director and producer, Farooq said, "We were struck by his sincerity and confidence and yes also the subject which is not wholly incredible."
The response of the Kolkata audience to the recent Deepti-starrer "Memories in March", filmed by debutante filmmaker Sanjoy Nag, was a pointer to the fact that actors and directors look towards this city for experimental works, Farooq pointed out.