"No advantages being Aparna Sen's daughte

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Posted: 18 years ago


It was a chilly night in the Bhutanese capital of Thimpu, and some members of the crew for Aparna Sen's 15 Park Avenue were letting their hair down in a nightclub called Pico's.
Amid vaguely atmospheric 1980s rock and Rahul Bose's extrapolations on jazz, Raja Sen tore Konkona Sensharma away from the bar long enough to talk about her new film.

Here's how things went:

It all started with Mr & Mrs Iyer. But now, after films like Amu and Page 3, suddenly you're being ranked among the finest actresses in Bollywood. How does that feel?

I'm very happy! It's so good to be appreciated by both critics and audiences. People have genuinely liked the films, which is what matters, right? I'm very grateful. And I'm excited because of the fact that this recognition lets me pick and choose my roles. There's so much to choose from.

Do you personally rate yourself as highly as an actress?

I can't tell, honestly. I read a script, and go out there and try my best. I still feel I'm lazy.

Lazy? Didn't show when you picked up a perfect Tamil inflection and tonality for Mr & Mrs Iyer. How long did you take for that? Thanks! It actually took me about three weeks, that I spent with a lady, a Tamil Brahmin. She really helped me get a feel of the accent. Three weeks? Wow! That sounds pretty professional. Do you have specific techniques as an actress? No, I don't quite believe in technique. I try to be as instinctive as possible. Which brings me to the fact that you've been juggling careers for a while now... Yeah, that's true. It was journalism, then advertising... I graduated college with English honours. And now it's acting. Will this bug be as shortlived as the others? Well, maybe. It's acting -- for some time. I can't plan! I'm sure all of us hope you stick around. This is your second film with your mother [Aparna Sen]. How is it working with her?

Oh, it's great. I love working with her. She is an absolute perfectionist. And I don't get any advantages being her daughter; she is a very tough taskmaster.

Let's take your experiences on each of your films. How was it with Amu?

I was very happy with that film. It brought about awareness about an important issue. The 1984 [anti-Sikh riots situation] isn't taught in schools. The good thing is that people have really appreciated the movie.

The director Shonali Bose was very supportive towards me as an actress. We had intense workshops in Los Angeles for three weeks prior to shooting.

So three weeks seems the standard preparation time for all your roles. Okay, so then there was Madhur Bhandarkar's Page 3. What was that like? It was a great, fun film. What I liked about Page 3 was that it had a very different script. We shot for that over eight months. The main reason I was attracted to that film was that it was my first 'big' film. I mean, it was a small-budget movie, by Bollywood standards, but it was a big film for me. Does the budget matter that much to you?

Well, it matters because there aren't too many constraints. You don't have the smaller tensions on the set. Things are done.

Let's talk about what you do in 15 Park Avenue.

I've been waiting for that (smiles). It's a very interesting character. I play Mitali Gupta, a schizophrenic. Shabana Azmi plays my older sister. Mitali thinks she is married to her ex-boyfriend, Rahul Bose. Playing a mentally impaired person isn't easy. Another three weeks of preparations before this movie?

Not really. I did a lot of workshops, largely to try and understand the psychology of the character. The job is made easy because the character has been written so well.

Talk a little more about the script, please? (Smiles) It's hard because I don't want to give anything away. It's a beautiful script. It questions our perceptions of things. What is 'sensible' does not have to equal what we take as socio-political and economic reality. You shouldn't take reality for granted. Well, seeing as we can't discuss this film, tell me what kind of films you like to watch.

I can't avoid watching Hindi films. I love watching movies like Main Hoon Na and Kal Ho Naa Ho. They were great fun. Of course, one has to mention [Satyajit] Ray in a listing of favourites. And the current European directors...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The usual suspects like [Danish filmmaker] Lars von Trier and [first Chinese to win Best Director at Cannes] Wong Kar Wai?

(Laughs) Exactly! And, predictably, [Spanish filmmaker, Pedro] Almodovar. But the reason you have to mention them is because they really are that good. What about actors? No lists this time, name one Indian actor you think the world of. Naseer[uddin Shah]. Cool. So, what's coming up for you after 15 Park Avenue? Oh, I'm really excited! I'm going to be going this horror film, called Amavas! It's just the thought of doing a horror film with blood and screaming that has me totally thrilled! Tara [Sharma, her Page 3 co-star] and me play two medical students in Delhi. It's pretty scary! (Laughs) Okay, we'll look forward to that and seeing if it's as scary. Finally, before you go back to your drink, you mentioned you're a pretty heavy reader. What kind of stuff do you like? Have you read Roddy Doyle? Oh, you must! He's great. And I like Margaret Atwood a lot. Then there's [Gabriel Garcia] Marquez and [Haruki] Murakami. I read a lot of fiction.
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