~KONKONA SEN SHARMA FC ~ New article p.61 - Page 7

Ms. Sen Sharma reveals her dark side

"I'm so tired!" groans Konkona when she returns to her vanity van from a shoot. She's had a hectic schedule and between every shot she managed to moan, groan and still give an interview enthusiastically. Being an extremely animated girl, every expression can be read on her face. Her eye movements when something suddenly strikes her mind, her hand gestures when she is trying make you understand something; everything speaks volumes about her personality.

One had heard that she gives a lot of thought to everything she is asked and that she will suddenly go silent and just when you think she has finished talking, you are startled by the continuation of her replies and she proved true to the description. She truly lives every moment to her best and doesn't mind letting the childish and naughty freak out every now and then.

SD: For an immensely talented actress like you, aren't you tired of playing second leads? Not that you lack any potential to carry a solo film.

KSS: But I don't always play second leads. In some films I play first lead, some second and some I have done multi-starrers. I mean, at least that's what I thought I did. (chuckles) In 'Aaja Nachle', Madhuri was the first lead and I was the second lead. But the thing is I don't see films like that. I see films as stories.

It's like in some you need two characters and in some you need 4-5 characters. I don't see it like 'Oh! I'm playing second lead or anything'. (Thinks a while.) Maybe I should (Smiles). See why I'm saying this b'coz I've done 'Mr and Mrs Iyer', I've done 'Dosar', I have done 'Page 3' and I'm going to do Zoya Akhtar's 'Luck by Chance'. So I don't feel that way because I don't really feel part of this big Bollywood game.

Not at all. Half of the films I have not even seen. If they have made 80 films I have seen 20. I don't believe people when they say, 'I have seen all your films and I'm your fan'. I say, it's not true at all. I don't think many people may have seen 'Dosar' or '15 Park Avenue'. As Karan Johar said 15 people have seen '15 Park Avenue'. But what I am saying is it's true. Not many people have seen it.

SD: You are not quite out in the media. Are you media shy unlike your contemporaries who just wait for a reason to gather publicity?

KSS: I am not media shy. I think I am moody and lazy. Really. There are times when I have to do lot of promotions for my films' release. Beyond that I don't really see any reason to talk to the media. Once in a while I do interviews or if I go for an event they take photographs. So I think that's enough. What else do I need? I don't think I'm media shy. I think some people are media crazy. They are hungry rather. Also I feel lazy to get ready and go out and all. I know that's also a part of me not being much in media.

SD: Not long ago in an interview, you were heard cribbing about the dialogues that you have to learn in Hindi. Do you see that as an impediment? Are you comfortable with the Hindi dialect now?

KSS: NOT AT ALL. (Emphasising on all three words) I am obviously joking when I emphasize it like that. I have done enough Hindi films for people to think I can speak Hindi well. I have done 'Page 3', 'Metro', 'Omkara', 'Mixed Doubles', 'Laaga
Chunari Mein Daag' and others also. I've done quite a lot of Hindi films and some of them with heavy dialect and accents. But I need to prepare.

Even for a regular Hindi film I would like to have my dialogues ready at hand. There are little changes here and there on the sets. That's normal. They improvise here and there. But otherwise, I need to have my dialogues prepared. I am marvelled by some actors. They come on the shoot, take a sheet of paper and go on set and say the entire thing in one take. So sometimes I feel very inadequate when I realize I can't do that.

SD: You have been in the industry for too long to be well aware of the language. Is it your resistance to learning the language fluently or are you too lazy to make an effort?

KSS: No actually, I'll tell you what; I can actually speak, read and write Hindi. My reading is slow. My writing is ok. I can write basic Hindi. But there is no need for me to read or write Hindi. I can have a conversation with you perfectly in Hindi. But why I don't like to do even interviews in Hindi is because I don't like to speak anything even slightly wrong.

If I am speaking in Hindi, I want to be able to speak it absolutely correctly. My Hindi is by and large correct. My problem is with gender. Neither English nor Bengali has anything to do with gender. Gender really throws me off. Everything from chair, desk and table has a gender. (Sighs!)

SD: But Bollywood is famous for the lack of bound scripts. Everything from deciding the scene to altering the role of a character happens last minute. Aren't you used to working the Bollywood way till now?

KSS: It used to be, but it's definitely getting better. That's why I have a habit of getting to study my lines. Because most films nowadays work with a well bound script and most films do retakes and rehearsals. There are a few films now and then, where your scenes, your costumes and all will not be ready. But you know what; it doesn't make it a bad film. It just makes it more difficult for the actor.

I am not a character kind of a person and according to me, remembering lines shouldn't come in the way of acting. When you are acting you can't be there trying to remember the lines, it should come like that (snaps her fingers). Then you can actually play around and say, 'Maybe I can do it like this, or I can do it like that'. You don't have that scope when you are doing it last minute.

SD: What made you do a regressive film like 'Laaga Chunari Mein Daag'? How do you explain a concept of a mother pushing her girl into prostitution and being ok with it as long as the money keeps coming in?

KSS: It is a misconception that today people are not becoming prostitutes. Not only are mothers and other family members pushing their children into prostitution, but they are also ok with it. There are so many people who do it. In fact, in the beginning I also thought that may be it's not correct. But many people have told me that it does still happen. The film had an old world flavour and that's what people have objected to. I find it very charming in many ways.

Certain people found it very predictable but they are entitled to their opinion. Maybe you are thinking I am biased towards my film. That may be the case, but many people have liked it very much. My mother told me that when somebody was discussing it and she does have a lot of knowledge. She is more into social activism kind of thing in a way and she was telling me that it's not even like this it's much greater in the outside world.

And my role, besides anything else, was really fantastic. I'm very surprised because lot of people have come out of the way to tell me it was good. I don't even go and ask them. I have done my movie, if people see it or like it, it's up to them. I don't tell people to go and see the movie or ask, 'Did you like my movie, why don't you see my movie?'. I don't say that. May be some people don't like it, that's fine.

SD: You are known for your arty films. 'Aaja Nachle' and 'Laaga Chunari Mein Daag' in the list of your recent films were out-an-out masala films. How was your experience? Did you enjoy doing it?

KSS: 'Aaja Nachle' and 'Laga Chunari Mein Daag' and even 'Page 3' are my more masala films than the others. Not as mainstream as compared to 'Heyy Babyy' or other films like that because it's Pradeep Sarkar after all. Even 'Aaja…' wasn't playing so much to the mainstream gallery because we were not doing a laugh riot kind of thing which I know is very popular nowadays. Not that I don't enjoy doing more mainstream movies, it's just that every movie I choose needs to be different.

Every project should be different. There are some films that I love doing and there are some films which I don't have such a good experience doing, and it's a bit of a pain sometimes, but that again depends on the kind of people I am working with. Because sometimes you gel very well with the unit and you just like to go and talk to them but sometimes you feel that you are just not on the same wavelength at all. And such things are horrible even if the movie is fantastic.

SD: Do you intend doing more of such running around trees kind of movies?

KSS: I don't know, I haven't decided. I decide on the basis of the script which has to be something interesting or a role that has to be something that hasn't been done before or something that I will have fun doing. But you know what, sometimes I really like the role but then I feel this director won't be able to do it. When I talk to a director at times, I feel that this director shouldn't really be doing this film. I work on my instincts. It's a gamble; at times it's a risk. Often I feel the film has done well but other people don't like it. It happens all the time.

SD: Do you have friends in the industry or you prefer to do your work, pack your bags and head home?

KSS: I have more friends outside the industry and I always decide to pack up and go. I can't wait for pack-ups. (Giggles) I am always dying for pack-ups. Always! There are some friends with who I socialise within the industry but by and large, most of my friends are from outside the industry. It also depends on the kind of vibe I get from people.

SD: Do you find Bollywood too superficial for real relationships?

KSS: I have no idea. I haven't thought about it. Bollywood or the film industry whatever you want to call it, is vast. I have interacted with certain people. Some of them are nice human beings or fun human beings, some of them are not nice human beings. That can happen in any field na.

SD: Production houses like the Yash Raj films that are known for typical commercial films have changed gears and are happily dabbling with off-beat stories. Do you consider yourself fortunate to be in the era where many of them are going through an image change with respect to their filmmaking or you prefer the films made earlier?

KSS: Yes, I'm very fortunate. I think it's great. It is opening up but I still think we are very dependent on stars. I absolutely loved 'Chak De' and 'Taare Zameen Par'. I wept and wept and wept! But we don't know what it would have been without a Shah Rukh Khan or an Aamir Khan.

Even if it was an alternative kind of an approach, we still heavily depend on the stars because we don't know if it may work. Like a 'Loins of Punjab', which was a great movie but it didn't do that good because there was no big star. This is very sad. But yes, we have made a lot of progress. Things are more organised, there are different themes being explored, there is not just a love story, there are so many other types of stories. I am hardly anyone to comment.

SD: Does fame excite you? Are you happy being known as a good actress or do you need to be considered as a star?

KSS: I'm not a star. I am a working actress. I want to be a good actor as opposed to being a star. I would first like to be known as a good actor and then I would love to be a star. But that's not an agenda. I certainly wouldn't want to be a star who cannot act. It is not that I can't walk on the street or I can't do certain things because I'm famous. I am not saying I am completely not famous. Some people do recognise me.

And I am comfortable with the amount of recognition that I'm getting. (Ponders…) you know what, maybe I should. Maybe I should think about how I dress, what I say. No? (Whispers animatedly) At least that's what people think. (Smiles) I am well behaved most of the time. But it's good that people think that way.

SD: Are you still a lazy actress?

KSS: I think I am lazy as compared to a lot of people. I am lazy. But I have realised that, in fact, I have learnt the hard way that I have to take an interest in my looks in a particular film. I have to take interest in my dialogues. I've realised that you need to oversee things a bit. I was spoilt a bit by people like Rajat Kapoor, Rituparno Ghosh, Pradeep Sarkar and lots of other people. You just do your job and give it to them.

They will call you for script readings or they will call you and say 'The costume person is coming, you must try all the clothes and click photographs in your costume and this should be your hair style, this must be the background for your character'. They will do all this for you. But in some other films they don't really care. They think you will come on well. But what they don't realise is that you come to do it well because of a certain amount of preparation that has gone into it. At least that's the case with me.

SD: Do you think you have suffered due to your lack of knowledge?

KSS: Yes I have. But just a little bit.

SD: When was it?

KSS: I mean…. Obviously I don't want to take the name of the films because they will feel bad but there are certain films in which I felt that I should have been more careful about what kind of costumes I was wearing or I should have been true to my characters and done my rehearsals a bit more. Nowadays, I find that for a particular film I call the actors and other people and say, 'Let's do the rehearsals', 'Let's do a look test'. This is something I never bothered to do earlier.

SD: Do you feel different here in Mumbai because when you go to Kolkata you have your mom's buffer, your films, known language et al? Do you feel off beat here?

KSS: On the contrary what happened is that I hardly do any films in Kolkatta. I have shot only three Bengali films. Of those three, two were with Rituparno Ghosh and one with someone else. And out of these most of them were not shot in Kolkatta. Of course, when I am shooting with Rituparno Ghosh there is always a comfort factor because I've known him from a long time.

With ma, I have done two films. One is '15 Park Avenue' and 'Mr and Mrs Iyer'. So it's not that I associate Kolkatta with more of a comfort zone for me as such. Yes, if there are certain people who I know beforehand or with friends of my mother's, I do feel more comfortable. But that happens in Bombay also.

SD: What are the other films that you are looking forward to?

KSS: I have Rituparno Ghosh's 'Sunglasses' which is going to release sometime soon, which is more of a comedy actually. I enjoy doing comedy very much. You know people have an idea that I am a very serious kind of an actor. But I have done so many roles that have not been so serious. Like in 'Laaga…' in the beginning I'm not serious; 'Aaja Nachle' was not a serious role. And there are few others where I am not playing a very earnest kind of a serious character.

But I think I would like to do more comedy, more of situational comedy. There are few scripts that I am reading too. But I do get offered very serious kinds of roles. Many people are very surprised when they meet me. People get very offended when they find that I'm very laid back. There were some journalists who got offended because I was not fitting into their idea of what Konkona is. It's just so bizarre! It's just preconceived notions I guess.

SD: But isn't 'Sunglasses' the film which was supposed to release a long time back?

KSS: This is the film Rituparno Ghosh was going to do with my mom 15 -20 years ago, for some reasons it didn't happen then. Now because he did it so many years later, I played that role instead of my mom. Much later when he was making it, my mother wasn't acting by then and he wanted a younger actor and he got me to play it. It was poetic justice.

The other films that I'm doing are 'Right Ya Wrong' with Sunny Deol and
Irrfan Khan, I am doing Zoya's 'Luck By Chance', there's a film with Rahul Bose and Soha Ali Khan and another film I'm excited about is Mira Nair's 'Shantaram'. I was supposed to work with Mira in 'The Namesake' and I couldn't do that because I was doing '15 Park Avenue'. I've been dying to work with her. But I am doing one cameo with her. I am doing one dramatic scene.

SD: Who do you turn to for advice on the script selection, especially with the language being the big bone of contention?

KSS: If I am confused you mean? I usually will trust my mother. Most of the time I decide on my own, that's 90% of the time. Once in a blue moon, if I feel apprehensive about a particular project, then I might speak to my mother.

SD: Do you discuss films at home?

KSS: Sometimes. Not everyday. Sometimes we discuss films, sometimes we discuss books. It's fun to chat with her because she talks about all types of things. She is very interesting that way. We talk about everything from interior decoration to film making. She's a great cook and a great interior decorator. Also I've done many films with my mom till now but most of them have been in Bengali. There is a film which I will be doing hopefully at the end of this year, but nothing is finalized. I mean my mother and I will work together a lot if all goes well.

SD: Do you ever sense a difference between working in Bengali films and Bollywood?

KSS: There is no difference as in language but there is a difference in the approach. There are many Bengali films also aping Bollywood or trying to be groovy. I have done different kinds of Bengali films. I have done more arty kind of Bengali films. I don't see any difference. There are a lot of people, like Rajat Kapoor who I have done films with. I know his wife and I feel very much at home with them. It also depends who I'm working with.

SD: You are a foodie, so how do you manage to be a foodie and still be in this profession?

KSS: (Pat comes the reply) By depriving myself. Ya, I'm a huge foodie. I love food, I love rice. Before a film I stop eating rice. I don't have a sweet tooth but I like carbs. Potatoes and rice! So unfair, yaar. I can survive on potatoes and rice. So before I start shooting, I stop or at least lower my carbs and start going to the gym more often. But when I'm not shooting I can happily feast on rice and all.

*By Sunaina Chandran