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She can never be tagged as the archetypal Hindi film heroine, but she's undoubtedly far more talented than most of the made-to-order glam dolls of today. She has an effervescent charm of her own, which lights up the screen every time she appears. Be it alternative or commercial, Konkona Sen Sharma has today successfully carved a niche for herself on both of the cinematic shores, with her award-winning performances in films like MR. & MRS IYER, PAGE 3, LIFE IN A METRO, OMKARA, LAAGA CHUNRI MEIN DAAG and many more. Currently, she is eagerly awaiting her next big commercial film for Yash Raj, WAKE UP SID.
How strenuous has the journey been, I wonder, looking at her munching on her Caesar Salad at the J.W. Marriott. Dressed in a bright yellow kurti, Koko paints a fine picture of contentment. She looks up from her salad and says, "I don't know because I never really thought about it like that, you know. I really didn't plan a career ever and I just kind of did whatever seemed appealing to me at the time. So it was a very organic process where one thing let to another or I did what I thought best suited me at a particular time, or things that I was truly interested in, mainly."
Coming from a different school of thought, with a diverse cinematic background, wasn't it difficult to adjust to the typical norms of HiFI?
"But I still don't see myself as a very typical mainstream actress," she says matter-of-factly. "And ya, I have done some commercial movies now more than before, but that's also because mainstream has evolved. The mainstream of the '80s and the mainstream of today is very different, so you will find mainstream films which do have actors from alternative space or you will find, like in CHAK DE, Shah Rukh Khan doing something which is alternative. So in that sense, things have changed. It's not so much me; I mean, I have not made a conscious decision to go from one genre to another, to be a certain kind of actress."
In fact, one can simply call it a play of destiny that brought this English graduate into films. Koko never wanted to be an actress but, while still in college, she got offers which she just happened to do. After her mother's MR. & MRS IYER, for which she even won a national award, she was noticed and more work came her way, work that she essayed with brilliance. Yet, it was not a premeditated decision, which makes it more surprising that she has managed to fit into this image conscious industry. An industry where, for an actress, looking good on the screen is more important than delivering a good performance.
"Everybody has their own opinions, you know, of what glamour is and what is good-looking and I have found that I have never, right from the beginning ever since I was a kid, ever adhered to the conventional notion of beauty and glamour. So I think, what the whole industry may find glamorous, I may not. And I am very confident about my own beliefs and I never really wanted to fit into that particular mold ever anyway. I mean, I find it amazing that people have accepted me for who I am and that's great and if they didn't, that would also be great. Also people have given me a huge amount of respect. I mean, no one's ever been rude to me or demeaning - and if they were I wouldn't take it for a second, either!"
She is definitely happy in her own skin and has no qualms about being herself. But doesn't it irritate and hurt her sometimes, when people want her to make certain changes in herself? Recently, there were reports in the papers about the director of WAKE UP SID wanting to re-shoot portions of the film as he was allegedly not very happy with the way Konkona looked in some scenes. Apparently, he thought she looked plump and not as attractive as he wanted.
"The re-shoot that you are talking about is something that Ayaan Mukherji, the director, wanted to do. Probably because he had his own reasons for re-shooting, which I don't want to get into since I don't know how appropriate it would be for me to talk about it," she shrugs. "Ya, there were issues with, you know, costumes, hair and all those kind of things. But it wasn't that he didn't like the way I looked… because if he didn't like the way I looked why would he cast me, to begin with? I think when someone comes to me for a film, they know what background I come from, what kind of films I do, and people have a vague idea of what I am all about. If they wanted someone who is a purely conventional heroine, they would go to a conventional heroine, no?"
Well, the point is conventional heroines these days seldom know to act and believe flaunting their skin and looking good, is the biggest contribution they are making to cinema.
"There's a huge demand for them and a lot of them act well," she points out. "There are many; look at Kareena, I mean she is fabulous, she is so good, and she is an all-rounder. I think people are entitled to their opinions. I mean, if they feel that a heroine should be like that, then fine, good for them."
Good actresses in HiFI today are just a handful…and sometimes it's really irritating when some, who can hardly even act, come out and say that they are contributors to Indian cinema! Doesn't it ever irk her?
"But you don't have to take them seriously! I have many better things to do in life, I don't sit around feeling upset about it," she laughs.
So, she doesn't mind being the unconventional one?
"Not at all!" she exclaims, "I think alternative is a great space to be rather than conventional and mainstream. In fact, I have always enjoyed alternative more than mainstream. And when I say that, I mean, generally, whether it's music, whether it's art, whether it's films, whether it's books; I've found that my tastes and my preferences lie with the alternative rather than with the mainstream."
The only problem with alternative is that it restricts your audience. There are only a certain section of people you are catering to… Everyone craves fame at the end of the day, right?
"No, not at all!" she shoots back, "In fact, I am going to give up acting very soon!" Oh, I had read somewhere that she intends to quit acting but I didn't know she was really serious about it. "I mean, not give up; just that if I get interesting work maybe I'll do it, but otherwise I want to try something else… I don't know what, though. I can't definitely see myself only doing this forever. I don't want be here forever, also I surely can't be here for 40-50 years, knowing the kind of roles that come our way!" she laughs.
Hmmm… how about getting behind the camera? If she doesn't wish to face it for too long, maybe, like her mother, she would want to get into direction.
"I have directed a short film, a 15-minute Bengali short film called PICKPOCKET but I don't think I am equal to the task. It was for the Kala Ghoda arts festival but I seriously don't think I will be able to direct a film…" she ponders and continues, "Maybe I will or maybe I won't…lets see. You know, direction, much like writing a novel or painting, is in you; you can't plan to do it. If you have a book in you, it'll come out. Similarly, if you have a film in you it'll come out regardless of what plan you make."
Talking about her mother, I wonder if she discusses her scripts with Aparna Sen…
"Not so much… By and large, I decide what I want to do, but sometimes I do: if I'm really excited about a project, I discuss it with her. Also, if I'm unsure about a project, then I discuss it with her. But we talk very regularly…almost every other day." With this she probably breaks the myth that all's not well between the mother and daughter.
Ask her about marriage with beau Ranvir Shorey and she smiles, "Let's see, not yet decided…" Knowing Koko, I'm sure this is about all she will divulge about her relationship… "Everyone knows I don't talk about it, and I love it, and everybody respects it too," she quips. I can't help smile at her response. There's indeed not much anyone can do to make Konkona Sen Sharma lose her inherent sense of balance.
http://www.vjmmedia.com/cineblitz/interviews/articles/0908/27/1090827001_1.htm
How strenuous has the journey been, I wonder, looking at her munching on her Caesar Salad at the J.W. Marriott. Dressed in a bright yellow kurti, Koko paints a fine picture of contentment. She looks up from her salad and says, "I don't know because I never really thought about it like that, you know. I really didn't plan a career ever and I just kind of did whatever seemed appealing to me at the time. So it was a very organic process where one thing let to another or I did what I thought best suited me at a particular time, or things that I was truly interested in, mainly."
Coming from a different school of thought, with a diverse cinematic background, wasn't it difficult to adjust to the typical norms of HiFI?
"But I still don't see myself as a very typical mainstream actress," she says matter-of-factly. "And ya, I have done some commercial movies now more than before, but that's also because mainstream has evolved. The mainstream of the '80s and the mainstream of today is very different, so you will find mainstream films which do have actors from alternative space or you will find, like in CHAK DE, Shah Rukh Khan doing something which is alternative. So in that sense, things have changed. It's not so much me; I mean, I have not made a conscious decision to go from one genre to another, to be a certain kind of actress."
In fact, one can simply call it a play of destiny that brought this English graduate into films. Koko never wanted to be an actress but, while still in college, she got offers which she just happened to do. After her mother's MR. & MRS IYER, for which she even won a national award, she was noticed and more work came her way, work that she essayed with brilliance. Yet, it was not a premeditated decision, which makes it more surprising that she has managed to fit into this image conscious industry. An industry where, for an actress, looking good on the screen is more important than delivering a good performance.
"Everybody has their own opinions, you know, of what glamour is and what is good-looking and I have found that I have never, right from the beginning ever since I was a kid, ever adhered to the conventional notion of beauty and glamour. So I think, what the whole industry may find glamorous, I may not. And I am very confident about my own beliefs and I never really wanted to fit into that particular mold ever anyway. I mean, I find it amazing that people have accepted me for who I am and that's great and if they didn't, that would also be great. Also people have given me a huge amount of respect. I mean, no one's ever been rude to me or demeaning - and if they were I wouldn't take it for a second, either!"
She is definitely happy in her own skin and has no qualms about being herself. But doesn't it irritate and hurt her sometimes, when people want her to make certain changes in herself? Recently, there were reports in the papers about the director of WAKE UP SID wanting to re-shoot portions of the film as he was allegedly not very happy with the way Konkona looked in some scenes. Apparently, he thought she looked plump and not as attractive as he wanted.
"The re-shoot that you are talking about is something that Ayaan Mukherji, the director, wanted to do. Probably because he had his own reasons for re-shooting, which I don't want to get into since I don't know how appropriate it would be for me to talk about it," she shrugs. "Ya, there were issues with, you know, costumes, hair and all those kind of things. But it wasn't that he didn't like the way I looked… because if he didn't like the way I looked why would he cast me, to begin with? I think when someone comes to me for a film, they know what background I come from, what kind of films I do, and people have a vague idea of what I am all about. If they wanted someone who is a purely conventional heroine, they would go to a conventional heroine, no?"
Well, the point is conventional heroines these days seldom know to act and believe flaunting their skin and looking good, is the biggest contribution they are making to cinema.
"There's a huge demand for them and a lot of them act well," she points out. "There are many; look at Kareena, I mean she is fabulous, she is so good, and she is an all-rounder. I think people are entitled to their opinions. I mean, if they feel that a heroine should be like that, then fine, good for them."
Good actresses in HiFI today are just a handful…and sometimes it's really irritating when some, who can hardly even act, come out and say that they are contributors to Indian cinema! Doesn't it ever irk her?
"But you don't have to take them seriously! I have many better things to do in life, I don't sit around feeling upset about it," she laughs.
So, she doesn't mind being the unconventional one?
"Not at all!" she exclaims, "I think alternative is a great space to be rather than conventional and mainstream. In fact, I have always enjoyed alternative more than mainstream. And when I say that, I mean, generally, whether it's music, whether it's art, whether it's films, whether it's books; I've found that my tastes and my preferences lie with the alternative rather than with the mainstream."
The only problem with alternative is that it restricts your audience. There are only a certain section of people you are catering to… Everyone craves fame at the end of the day, right?
"No, not at all!" she shoots back, "In fact, I am going to give up acting very soon!" Oh, I had read somewhere that she intends to quit acting but I didn't know she was really serious about it. "I mean, not give up; just that if I get interesting work maybe I'll do it, but otherwise I want to try something else… I don't know what, though. I can't definitely see myself only doing this forever. I don't want be here forever, also I surely can't be here for 40-50 years, knowing the kind of roles that come our way!" she laughs.
Hmmm… how about getting behind the camera? If she doesn't wish to face it for too long, maybe, like her mother, she would want to get into direction.
"I have directed a short film, a 15-minute Bengali short film called PICKPOCKET but I don't think I am equal to the task. It was for the Kala Ghoda arts festival but I seriously don't think I will be able to direct a film…" she ponders and continues, "Maybe I will or maybe I won't…lets see. You know, direction, much like writing a novel or painting, is in you; you can't plan to do it. If you have a book in you, it'll come out. Similarly, if you have a film in you it'll come out regardless of what plan you make."
Talking about her mother, I wonder if she discusses her scripts with Aparna Sen…
"Not so much… By and large, I decide what I want to do, but sometimes I do: if I'm really excited about a project, I discuss it with her. Also, if I'm unsure about a project, then I discuss it with her. But we talk very regularly…almost every other day." With this she probably breaks the myth that all's not well between the mother and daughter.
Ask her about marriage with beau Ranvir Shorey and she smiles, "Let's see, not yet decided…" Knowing Koko, I'm sure this is about all she will divulge about her relationship… "Everyone knows I don't talk about it, and I love it, and everybody respects it too," she quips. I can't help smile at her response. There's indeed not much anyone can do to make Konkona Sen Sharma lose her inherent sense of balance.
http://www.vjmmedia.com/cineblitz/interviews/articles/0908/27/1090827001_1.htm
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