‘I do juggle many roles, and enjoy all of them precisely because there are so many’: Konkona Sensharma

Tell us about your journey from an actor to a filmmaker and now a podcast host. Is it in sync with what you had planned?

You know, I never planned anything; including becoming an actor. Neither did I plan to become a filmmaker, a director, or a podcast host either. I think I am, perhaps, drawn to certain stories and sharing them. It doesn’t matter how it happens — as I am not even planning or strategising to make it happen. So, I think it’s something I’m naturally attracted to — some stories, sharing certain stories, sharing life experiences, connecting to other people in different ways, connecting to stories and people who are not necessarily represented and shown as much in mainstream formats of storytelling. As I said, I don’t think there’s any point in planning anything in life because there are too many other factors that get in the way. A lot of it is also luck; not to take away from anybody, including my own hard work or talent. But I think luck, unfortunately, or fortunately plays a big role in life and in work.

 

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Tell us about the latest feather in your cap — that of a podcast host?

Honestly, I don’t see this as a feather in my cap as I am somebody who is a storyteller, or is drawn to storytelling, or just being involved in telling stories. I am medium agnostic, as they say because one has to, you know. I’ve been working for the last 20-23 years, and mediums change, formats change. We went from film to video, from big screen to small screen to OTT, and now podcast. But that doesn’t matter. What does is that you’re telling a story, one that you want to be involved with and connect to people. So, I don’t really see it as a feather in my cap. It’s just another way of connecting with people.

Interestingly, the topic you chose for the podcast is far from your body of work until now. Tell us about your sporty side.

I don’t think I have a sporty side at all! In fact, I’m not a very outdoorsy person. I do, I mean, follow enough of a sport to watch the cricket World Cup final or the football World Cup… I enjoy that. But, that’s more because it’s a community, a socio-cultural activity. This particular story, actually, is something that’s very tied up to my own cultural heritage, my own Bengali upbringing, and my childhood, and has a certain nostalgic value for me. That is how I connected to the story. So when Luminary came to me with ‘Barefoot Boys’, I was like, ‘Oh, I know the story’. I’ve kind of a bastardized version of it. So, I really benefited from the amount of research put into it, and I found out many more things that I didn’t necessarily know, to begin with. That is why I said, yes, I would love to be involved in telling the story.

 

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What sports are you interested in; did you also play any sports as a child?

I was never really interested in sports too much, as I said earlier. So, I didn’t really play too many sports as a child. The only physical activity I would say that I have really connected with is yoga. That, too, developed, only properly in the last 10 to 12 years since my son was born. There’s no other sport that I really connected with. I mean, I love watching nice cricket — India-Pakistan final once in a while — or a big match, say a Brazil-Italy football match or something like that. But it’s not like I have fought for sport.

What role, according to you, does sports play in shaping one’s character/lessons one can learn from any sport?

I think sport does play a very important part in the life of an individual, particularly one that is growing and developing because of the discipline of it, because of learning to play a team sport, learning to work with other people. In life, a large determinant of success is actually getting along with other people, including those you may not necessarily like or may have a lot in common with. There are 8 billion people in the world or thereabouts, and some are going to be different from you. Hence, it’s very important to learn how to be able to navigate the world with people you like and those you don’t. So, I think, sport does play an important part in cultivating the mind in terms of training, discipline, and things like that.

 

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Of the many roles you juggle, which one do you enjoy the most?

Very interesting question! I do think I juggle many roles — a mother, an actor, a filmmaker, a housewife, a citizen, a woman, an atheist, etc. and I think I am able to enjoy all of them is precisely because there are so many. If I was forced to do only one thing, I would not enjoy it. I think that variety, diversity is what keeps me so engaged because I find I’m a better mother, because I’m a working mother. For example, I think if I was at home with my child all the time it would be challenging in its own way. Also, I like that the work I do is kind of project-to-project based, which means things come to an end, new things begin, we meet new people etc…so that I like the quality!

We just cannot not ask you about your impeccable sense of style. What does fashion mean to you?

Thank you so much for saying I have an impeccable sense of style. But, I don’t know if I necessarily agree (laughs). I would say that sometimes I enjoy dressing up, sometimes I don’t. Like on some days I know what I’m feeling inside, say feminine, bold or strong and want to give off a certain vibe. But there are days I wish I could just put on a uniform, or say, track pants and not worry about expressing myself through my clothes. However, once in a while I do like to dress up and express myself creatively, but not necessarily every time that I have to dress up, do I enjoy it! Fashion is something one can buy and keep up with. I’m not necessarily interested in fashion. I think some people have an intrinsic sense of style, par of which is not really caring what other people think and being true to yourself. So, I hope I have more style than fashion.

 

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 How would you describe your pandemic experience? The one thing that kept you going in such gloomy times?

The pandemic experience was very interesting; I’ve never done as much housework as I did then, and that was really tough — living without any help or much social interaction. But I was very blessed because I had my younger sister, a live-in help who has been with me long term, and my son living with me. And I adopted a puppy. So, I actually had quite a blessed lockdown. I learned to embrace my own curly hair since the salons were shut. I learned how to parallel park really well in my building parking space…so those things really helped. I also read a lot, I watched a lot. I connected with friends and family on Zoom calls, something that’s become infrequent these days. So, I do have to say that there’s a lot I gained from that. But I also realised that I’m in a privileged minority, and not everybody had such a good experience. Of course, there were stressful times when me or my loved ones got COVID and how we survived that, but on the whole, I would say it’s been okay.

 You have an interesting filmography. What is the most important thing for you when saying ‘yes’ to a role?

Thank you for saying I have an interesting filmography! I think the most important thing for me is firstly, instinct. Actually, its largely instinct and gut because, you know, luck does play a very big part. You cannot accurately predict how things will turn out because there are so many sets of complex factors which contribute to every event, right? Especially a big event like a film, which involves so many people, so much money, etc. So instinct in the sense that how well do I connect to the story that has been told? How well do I connect to the character that I’m supposed to essay? I often feel that I’m really a portal between the viewer, the audience and the character. So if I try to find a connect with the characters so that the viewer is able to as well, I also rely a lot on the director and the kind of understanding or rapport I have with the director because that’s the person who’s really going to realise the script, so to speak, and take important decisions. So I would see that they both go hand in hand.

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