Mumbai, Sep 15 - Neil Nitin Mukesh was seen as a child actor in the 1988 film 'Vijay', which also featured Rishi Kapoor and Hema Malini. The trio is now set to come together after 21 long years for Ken Ghosh's new film.

'Now isn't that a once in a lifetime coincidence?' Ghosh exclaimed. 'For me, getting Neil Nitin Mukesh, Rishi Kapoor and Hema Malini to star in the film was good enough and now this fact being highlighted has only proven to be the icing on the cake,' the director told IANS.

In 'Vijay', each of the three actors had a rather strange screen appearance and they hardly shared screen space. While Neil played Hema Malini's little son, Rishi went on to play his grown up version. This made Hema Malini Rishi Kapoor's on-screen mom.

'Well, Rishi Kapoor and Hema Malini are pretty much paired opposite each other in my film. While they represent the older generation, Neil would play a contemporary character. And, yes, unlike 'Vijay' where the script didn't allow the three of them to share screen space together, there would be ample scenes between them here,' Ghosh said.

As a child actor, Neil has played not just a young Rishi but also a young Govinda in 'Jaisi Karni Waisi Bharni' in 1989.

On the other hand, Rishi and Hema Malini have worked together, the most notable being 'Ek Chaadar Maili Si' (1986).