What's there in a role?
|
Konkona Sen Sharma on playing roles, her preparation, her method
|
I have never taken a role as mainstream or offbeat. If I think I need to do some singing and dancing which looks convincing on the screen, I wouldn't mind doing it.
PHOTO: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY
SERIOUS ONE Konkona Sen Sharma plays Emilia in "Omkara".
At the time of the release of "Devdas", Madhuri Dixit was asked if she had read Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel. Her reply was, "If I had read it, it would have influenced my mind. And I wanted to be free from any influence while playing this character (Chandramukhi)." And now five years later, Konkona Sen Sharma repeats the same statement except that she is portraying the character of Emilia in Shakespeare's masterpiece `Othello' being adapted in Hindi as "Omkara" by Vishal Bhardwaj. "What to prepare for the role? We have all read `Othello' in our school or college. I did what Vishal asked me to do. The film has been being contemporarised and Indianised to suit today's audiences," says Konkona.
Contrary to Konkona's image of a sensitive actress who has a lot to say about the role she plays, she comes across as a simple girl of few words.
Unlike many of her contemporaries, she doesn't know how to manipulate her answers. They are usually in monosyllables.
So simple
But there is a reason for this kind of personality. She says it as plainly, "Actually, I don't relate to any characters I play. So, for me there is neither a need to actually prepare for a role nor have a hangover after playing it." So, when Naseeruddin Shah chose her among many to play Tillotma in his directorial venture "Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota", she reacted in her usual way, "I hardly have a 20-minute role in the film which we finished in a few days of shooting. I wish I had worked in his plays."
After "Mrs. And Mr. Iyer", Konkona did many other films but did not get such rave reviews until she played a celebrity journalist in "Page 3" for which bagged the National Award. Konkana seems hardly affected by her popularity.
"I don't think `Page 3' was a mainstream commercial film. It became a hit and thus was noticed by masses too. What's my contribution to that?"
She continues working in offbeat films like "Omkara". So, Konkona is being typecast as a serious actress, not given to lighter things in life? Only recently we heard that she is trying to do some `image changing' glamorous roles. Konkona refutes, "I have never taken a role as mainstream or offbeat. If I think I need to do some singing and dancing which looks convincing on the screen, I wouldn't mind doing it. But if media labels it as some image changing effort, what can I do?"
For now, Konkona has Rituparno Ghosh's surreal film "Sunglasses" and her mother Aparna Sen's "Jewel Box" in her kitty.
RANA SIDDIQUI
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
