MUMBAI: Movie star Konkona Sen Sharma says her role in the movie Talvar is ‘incredibly fascinating’.

Sashying her way through real characters on the big screen, with or without a tinge of grey, comes naturally for this dusky Bengali beauty.

Acting comes to her effortlessly, it seems, and she delivers powerhouse performances — and yet she feels “lucky” because of the roles offered and considers each a challenge.

Indeed, her remarkable skills have earned her many acclaims and awards, including National Film Awards in the form of best actress for her role in Mr and Mrs Iyer and best supporting actress in Omkara.

As she hits the silver screen yet again, this time with the highly anticipated Talvar, Konkona Sen Sharma talks about its making in an exclusive interview to thestatesman.com, and says her role here is “incredibly fascinating”.

Apart from her “great experience” in the film, she also shares interesting facets of her life.

Talvar, directed by Meghna Gulzar, explores the infamous Aarushi Talvar double-murder case. Fourteen-year-old Aarushi and 45-year-old Hemraj Banjade, a domestic help, were mysteriously killed in Noida on the night of May 15, 2008.

“The script was well researched. The direction was up to the mark. So, being a part of the film has been a great experience and the role was incredibly interesting to play,” says Konkona.

She plays Aarushi’s mother. Also featuring Neeraj Kabi as the father and Irrfan Khan as the investigating officer, the film attempts to show a different side of the case. “The characters had to be portrayed in a different light each time. It was presented from a different viewpoint — from another crime scenario,” she explains.

The incident was shocking and the case highly debatable. But what’s eerie about the film is that it shares a lot of similarity with the recent Sheena Bora murder case that continues to make news headlines.

The series of events were identical and both cases took the same time to be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

When told about this, Konkona feels the “media frenzy” has been “distasteful … I have not followed the Sheena case closely. Moreover, it has just come into the limelight and the investigations are going on. Let’s see where it goes.”

Aarushi’s parents were pronounced guilty when the case came to a close. But Konkona reveals that the “evidence and investigation has been compromised at various levels”, which makes it hard to tell for this particular film.

What was the most difficult scene to enact in Talvar? Reminiscing on the shooting, Konkona says the “crematorium scene” was quite difficult. “It was a hot day and we had to stand very close to the pier. The team kept telling us, ‘Get ready. Come on, come into the frame.’ The smell of the burning body was making it worse,” she recalls.

But Konkona feels wonderful about having Irrfan in the film. They have acted together in several films and were admired by viewers for their onscreen chemistry in Life in a… Metro.

“Irrfan is a very normal, laidback, regular guy. It has always been a pleasure and great fun working with him,” she says. Though the two don’t have many scenes together, Konkona says it was “wonderful to have him in the film”.

Produced by Vishal Bharadwaj, Talvar has garnered many expectations and is tipped to hit the box office. Nor is this the first time Konkona has worked with Vishal. She previously worked with him in Ek Thi Daayan, 7 Khoon Maaf, Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? and Omkara, for which she received the award for best supporting actress.

“I am happy to have the opportunity to work with him in any capacity, whether it is direction, production, or that he is presenting it or even contributing in any way because I’m sure any project with him on board will have quality and good content.”

The actress skillfully enacts her role in Talvar and when asked how being a mother in real life has been, she exclaims, “Motherhood has been a wonderful experience! It’s a tough job as you are responsible for a human being, not just for their physical well-being and safety, but also their mental upbringing and formation of personality in some ways.” It’s rewarding and exhausting, she adds, but most of all it’s better than anything else she has experienced.

From Mr and Mrs Iyer to Page 3 and Wake Up Sid, Konkona has always won the hearts of viewers with her ability to transform into her character with ease when the camera is on the roll. After playing such diverse roles, she says, “Personally, my favourite character onscreen was in the film 15 Park Avenue where I played a schizophrenic.” She feels it was “challenging” as well as “oddly liberating”.

Then again, “Wake Up Sid was a very special script. It was director Ayan Mukherjee’s first film and it was beautifully written. If I had to get a role or film like that, I would definitely consider it,” she beams.

With more opportunities in store for the actress, going by how her choices have contributed to the many offers she has got, she says, “It is a mix of a bit of both. You have to get offers to begin with and then do the job to the best of your ability. That is the challenge of acting.”

Hugely inspired by her parents, film-maker, screenwriter and actress Aparna Sen and science writer and journalist Mukul Sharma, Konkona says, “Having a strong-minded, independent and capable woman [her mother] as a role model has deeply influenced me in terms of my own life, career and self-esteem.”

She says she would love to venture into film-making like her mom, but feels that “it is not an easy genre to get into” as the films she would like to direct are not mainstream ones but high on content. It, however, would not come as a surprise to her fans who believe in her capabilities if one day this award-winning actress decides to follow in her mother’s footsteps.

Konkona was in news for her recent split with husband Ranvir Shorey and, not without reason, she feels that relationships are different for different people. “The most important thing is to be happy, become self-sufficient and not expect everything from one person when you are in a relationship,” she says with conviction.

—By arrangement with The Statesman/India

Published in Dawn September 30th, 2015

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