A lot to look forward to

Konkona Sensharma is excited about 15, Park Avenue, her latest venture

Konkona Sensharma is on a high. In Mumbai for a day to celebrate the success of Page 3, there are reasons enough for her euphoria. For one, Page 3 been declared the first hit of 2005. Two, after earning praise for her brilliant performance in mother Aparna Sen's Mr & Mrs Iyer, she is now all set to work again in her English venture 15 Park Avenue, to be shot in and around Kolkata.

Konkona says she didn't take great pains to prepare for the role of Madhavi Sharma in Page 3 since there was no great cultural divide between her and the character she portrays. "It did help that grandfather Chidanand Dasgupta and both my parents — Aparna Sen and Mukul Sharma — happen to be journalists. I feel that sometimes the easiest things will be difficult to portray and vice-versa, since many worlds co-exist in the same space."

Konkona doesn't hesitate to say that Page 3 means more to her than even Mr & Mrs Iyer because it afforded her an opportunity to work in a Hindi film for the first time, away from home, and with another director, after Mr & Mrs Iyer.

Konkona or Kooki, as she is affectionately called, confesses that though she did expect Page 3 to click, its success far surpassed her expectations. " Madhur is open, accessible and has a very good sense of humour. He is a very easygoing person, easy to talk to and get along with. I enjoyed watching his Chandni Bar though I should confess that I didn't quite like Satta."

Does she regret having opted out of Mira Nair's The Namesake? Pat comes the reply: "I was cast opposite Irrfan Khan in Mira's film, which I looked forward to. It would have been a big challenge to do a role, which traverses from 19 to 45. I had already read The Namesake. It was about the migration of a young couple. I couldn't allot Mira the dates because she couldn't start the project by February as planned and I had already allotted my dates to mum's project."

Another film which Konkona is eagerly looking forward to is director Siddharth Srinivasan's maiden venture Amavas in which Tara Sharma, Mahesh Manjrekar, Neena Gupta and Victor Bannerjee are her co-stars. "I did my own stunts in Amavas, a film dealing with supernatural powers. I think horror is amplified if contexualised in reality. There are greater chances of horror if the characters appear ‘ real'in a horror film. I feel it is a big challenge to do something one doesn't believe in."

Besides Amavas, Konkona will be seen in yet another English-Hindi film called Chai Pani Etc, which has Zafar Karachiwala and veejay Gaurav Kapoor as her co-stars. " Chai Pani Etc is a comedy about three people. I do a double role for the first time."

As far as Konkona is concerned, actors have a tricky job since they must fulfil someone else's vision, mouth someone else's lines. "A lot of times I find acting boring. Acting is only a shooting experience. The film is more important to me."

Is it an advantage to have Aparna Sen as a mother? "I do not know the disadvantages of having a director like Aparna Sen as my mother. I am lucky to have her as my mother. She started directing when she was 32 with 36 Chowringhee Lane. In fact, I was born then. I was cast in Mr & Mrs Iyer because I happened to be around mum when she decided on the project. It is a compliment if expectations soar because I am her daughter. Mum and I understand each other very well .."

Is she looking forward to doing commercial films? "I will see the scripts that come my way. But I have no aspirations to do commercial masala films."