“I do relate to the character Chutki a lot” - Konkona Sen Sharma

Made her debut as a child artist in the film Indira (1983), her adult debut was in Ek Je Aachhe Kanya (2000). She gained attention with the English film Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002), and received the coveted National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film. Her appearance in the film Page 3 (2005) gave her a wide recognition. Since then, Konkana has defined simplicity personified in her finesse.

After winning her first Filmfare Award under the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance in Omkara (2006), and had her first commercial success with Life in a... Metro. The talented actress is all set for her next blockbuster ‘Laga Chunri Mein Daag’ which will hit the marquee this Friday. Here Konkana talks about her experience with ‘Laaga Chunari Mein Daag’.

How did this film happen and what made you decide on doing it
I had got a call from Aditya Chopra and he had asked me about “Aaja Nachle” and I was most excited and I grabbed that opportunity to be a part of that film, then I got a second call asking if I was interested in hearing the subject of Pradeep Sarkar’s film, I had already heard of Dada making a new film so I was very excited to hear that I was being considered because I loved Parineeta, I wanted to work with Dada and I heard the script with Dada, Rekha Nigam who wrote the film and I loved my part and I think any actor would have loved to do this role.

Having a mother who is a director, do you consult her about your roles
I have to say one thing because she is a director she never takes my side. Sometimes acting is very tedious she tells me that’s the way film making is but at the same time it’s also very convenient because she knows it all because of her experience she can offer a lot in terms of advice and feedback. I often ask her about the offers I am getting and the script. It’s not much nowadays because we are not in the same city but we do talk and I value her advice very much.

Your character in the film
I play  Chutki a very lively kind of a girl she is full of life, Very intelligent, She’s sharp has a mind of her own she has clear views on certain things in life and she is quite uncompromising in her stance in her outlook towards life in general.

Can you relate to the character in real life
I do relate to the character Chutki a lot, I would agree with her on every subject but by and large she is someone who I like, her attitude and vivacity. I think that I am like that in some way.

There is a very strong sibling bond shown in the film? Do you share a similar bond with your sibling in real life?

I do have an elder sister and we are very close. My sister is ten years older then me and in the film Rani is suppose to be just a couple of years elder then me. I am very close to my sister but it’s a very different kind of a bond.

I think the two sisters in this film right from the beginning are very good friends I think all elder sisters have this where Badki is a bit of a mother, tries to be a little bossy with Chutki sometimes and there are flavors of that elements which I find in my relationship with my sister. For example there’s a scene in which badki tells Chutki that we have picked her up from the garbage dump n I remember that because my sister used to tell me that when I was a kid and I think sisters and siblings everywhere will relate to that bond which we have shown in the film. I think sisters just become friends and I am very lucky to have a sister and so are Badki and Chutki.

Experience of shooting in Benaras
We had quite a few location for this film we had Benaras, Switzerland and Mumbai; I think the most intense was Benaras. I had gone to Benaras for the first time in my life it is such a visually crowded place and the space I think really inspires film makers because it is so ancient because of its river, temple and the ghats, its unique.

We had a superb time shooting there it was the first time we all got together. In Mumbai what happens is that when you shoot everyone goes back to their own houses and they have their own life’s to deal with and we didn’t have that in Benaras and I think the film actually reflects that.

Working with Yash Raj Films
I loved working with Yash Raj films because I think they just spoil you for life. I am used to doing a lot of low budget art films or films where you don’t have the comfort and luxury but with these films I think that I have really been spoilt from things like having a clean toilet to a larger thing like your look for the film which is been designed and thought of, taken care off by professionals. I think Yash Raj does a thorough professional job; it makes it much easier for an actor because you don’t have to concentrate on the smaller nitty gritties and you can just work on your role. 

Any memorable incident you remember during the shoot of the film
One which I remember in Benaras when we were shooting the song “Hum To Aise hai Bhaiya” and there is a line in where she is saying something about having bhang and my character is suppose to be having a glass of bhang and I had to actually swallow a lot of milk during that time. I was disgusted because I had to actually spit it out because we had done quite a few takes.

The other thing I remember is being in Switzerland and taking a helicopter shot where they had to put me on top of a cliff and I was wearing a skimpy white dress and it was freezing cold and I had to stand on this hilltop and wave frantically to this helicopter which is circling me, I was freezing and I thought my arms would fall off and it didn’t work the first time so we had t go there the second day and do it all over again and I was alone except for one assistant who had come with me both times and we both just died.

Working with Pradeep Sarkar
It was lovely working with him in the beginning I hadn’t quite figured him out so I use to be little scared of him because he has quite a gruff manner in the beginning now I have realized through the working of the film that he is very sweet and one has to kind of learn to deal with him now I can feel affection for him I don’t always take him so seriously but first few days I would be nervous whether I was doing things correctly.

Experience of shooting in a complete Bengali set up I felt like I was doing a Bengali film and I think many unit members also felt that they are doing a Bengali film because Dada would constantly talk in Bengali. I would feel very bad for the non-Bengali’s because Dada would constantly give directions on the mike in fluent Bengali and his Hindi was also spoken in a very typical Bengali way. The food, the crew everything was very Bengali so I was quite comfortable.

About your styling in the film? Which is your favourite outfit from the film
My clothes are designed by Manish Malhotra and Sabyasachi who are the best of the best. The first half of the film is set in Benaras and Sabyasachi did my clothes and second half of the film where I am in Mumbai that look has been designed by Manish Malhotra.

I personally like wearing Patyala and Short kurtis so I was very comfortable in Sabyasachi clothes. At the same time I have to say Manish’s clothes when I wore them I use to be very hesitant and unsure because it had to be more on the glamorous side. I would keep telling him that make the dress a little longer or give me sleeves, make the neckline higher and he would be trust me. I have got many compliments even his style of Churidar-Kameezes are so different from the earlier look and its been wonderful.

Will you wear it ofscreen
I don’t know if I will wear them off screen but I think it does look great. There is one outfit which I love which is a skimpy blue dress which I am wearing in the proposal scene in the film. At the time of wearing that I was very apprehensive but I think it looks great on screen so I am glad he pushed the envelope with me.

Finally working with your co-stars

Rani Mukherjee : It was superb working with Rani I am a big fan of hers and I remember the first day I met her was at the reading for “Laaga Chunari Mein Daag” very shyly and nervously I told her that I am a big fan of hers. She just laughed very sweetly and I don’t even think she even took me seriously but I was. It’s a pleasure working with her she is very professional but she is very much a real person. She doesn’t have starry airs and she is not snooty and goes of in a corner at all so it was difficult for me to reconcile the two images the Rani I know on screen and the Rani I knew in person and we had a lovely time there is so much to learn from her, she is a gifted actress, a great dancer. I think the chemistry we shared shows on screen. I had a lovely time.

Jaya Bachchan: I love working with her she is just fabulous. She is so warm, she is as gracious as a person and I guess there was some kind of connection. In Benaras in the beginning I was a bit lost and she really took me under her wing and I feel so grateful she was very affectionate, caring and I really enjoyed working with her I wouldn’t even say I enjoyed working with her I just enjoyed being with her on set, off set we would have dinner together.

Kunal Kapoor: Kunal and I did two films back to back we did “Laaga Chunari mein Daag” and “Aaja Nachle” so there was a process of getting to know each other. He is such a lovely person there is not one malicious bone in his body he is what he is, he is very Ernest, very professional there are these things that I could learn and you can just tease him, make fun of him and he takes it so well and he makes fun of me back. We share a very nice rapport, very comfortable and we remain friends even otherwise.
 
Abhishek Bachchan: I didn’t have too many scenes with Abhishek, we just had a song together and one scene together. He’s good fun always cracking jokes on set making fun of everyone so the atmosphere is light and convivial. It’s been good fun and he has a nice energy.

Anupam Kher: Anupamji is another person whom I took to immediately because the first day he came on set in Benaras, I think I was quite bored that day I probably didn’t have much to do and he came and he just started playing games and I love playing games and so does he,

we use to play these word making games and all kinds of  word games you can play at a set and the first few times I even beat him so that was a lot of fun. I enjoyed working with him.