Movie profile: Konkona Sen Sharma

 

Coming Into her Own

 

When Konkona Sen Sharma came into the industry as an actress, many wondered how she would live in the long shadow of her actor-director mother Aparna Sen. And whether she made it into films because of her mother. Konkona has put that doubt at rest permanently by proving yet again with Metro that she is an actor with her own style.

 

In Metro, Konkona plays Shruti, a typical Mumbai city girl who searches for her groom online, through matrimonial sites. Like many city women, she earns her own living but does not know where to look for love. She does meet Irrfan who she believes is definitely not her match but eventually, she sees something in the social misfit that is attractive. Konkona loved her role in Metro and is happy that Anurag Basu approached her for the role. She has only praise for her costar Irrfan Khan. One of the reasons she chose the role was because she was acting opposite Irrfan, she reveals.

 

The actor has made the successful transition from offbeat films to commercial films. Konkona says that while she continues to do offbeat cinema which mainly targets festival audiences, she is simultaneously doing mainstream cinema as well which gets her instant appreciation and recognition. There are also Bengali films like the black and white Dosar which very few get to see. Which actor does not want to reach out to a wider audience? Konkona is no exception.

 

Talking of mainstream cinema, Konkona has two Yashraj projects under her belt - Aaja Nachley with Anil Mehta, a former cameraman, making his debut as director andwhich is also Madhuri Dixit’s comeback film.  The other is Pradeep Sarkar's Laga Chunri Mein Daag with Rani Mukherjee. Konkona concedes that it is Rani who has the main role while she plays Rani’s sister. The film also stars Abhishek Bachchan, Kunal Kapoor, Anupam Kher, and Jaya Bachchan. Konkona says that working with a big banner ensures that her film will be released and besides, Yashraj ensures great promos.

 

When she entered the film industry, the actor had said that she was comfortable speaking English and her mother tongue, Bengali. Today, she stars in Hindi films. She is still not completely comfortable speaking Hindi but is definitely getting better at the language and because she is given the dialogues in advance, she ensures that she sounds good on screen.

 

Konkona rates 15 Park Avenue as her favorite film. In it, she plays Mithi a schizophrenic girl. That was a very difficult role, she recalls. Even more difficult because it was directed by her perfectionist mother. However, Konkona, as always, sailed through the role adeptly, coming out with excellence. Yes, Konkona is an excellent actor in her own right and has long come out of the shadow of her famous mother.