A Wicked Act

The response to her performance in Ek Thi Daayan shows Konkona Sen Sharma has successfully moved into the commercial movie space.

THE organised mess of shooting the film didnt allow her to register the supernatural aspect that Ek Thi Daayan explored. But when Konkona Sen Sharma watched it at the trial show for the films cast and crew,she was spooked. The role,one of the five characters she signed to mark her return from a year-long maternity leave in 2011,turned out as deliciously wicked as she perceived it to be when director Kannan Iyer had brought to her the script. Iyer recalls,She was my first and last choice for the role of Diana. Konkona has in her this innate quality to transform into the character she is playing.

This conviction has resonated with the audience as well. Apart from her daayan act in the film,Konkona has also impressed the audience with her performance in the Bengali film Goynar Baksho The Jewellery Box,which,too,explores a supernatural premise.

While the release of both the films has almost coincided,Konkona explains that it is hardly her latest fascination with the genre but a mere co-incidence.

Goynar Baksho is more in the comic space where the use of supernatural is to get people to laugh, she says. But what both these films have done is strengthen her association with her parents. My dad,Mukul Sharma,wrote the original short story of Ek Thi Daayan and then worked on the script along with Vishal Bhardwaj. And my mother Aparna Sen has directed me in Goynar Baksho, she adds.

Ever since her debut as a child artiste in Bengali film Indira 1983,Konkona is known to be a powerhouse performer. She consolidated her position when she grew up with some nuanced portrayals in the regional and off-beat space,such as that of a South Indian housewife in Mr amp; Mrs Iyer,a schizophrenic girl in 15 Park Avenue and as a feisty journalist in Page 3. She is one of the few female actors in contemporary cinema who can carry a film on her shoulders. She is a great improviser, Madhur Bhandarkar had said of her in an earlier interview.

While Bhandarkars view is shared by most filmmakers who have worked with her,Konkona remains unmoved by the appreciation. When you love something you do,you do it well, she says,adding that her role in 15 Park Avenue was the most challenging.

In the last few years,however,Konkona has also transcended into the commercial space. With her roles in Wake Up Sid! opposite Ranbir Kapoor and Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge? with Ajay Devgn,the 33-year-old revealed an unexplored aspect of her to the industry. I was never opposed to that space. I am grateful that Ashwini Dhir and Ayan Mukerji believed that I can pull off a commercial role as well, she says,adding that at this stage in her career,she is only looking for interesting and diverse roles irrespective of genre and language.

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However,at the moment,Konkona the mother,has taken over. After five films last year,I deserve this break. Now I will spend time with my baby and read scripts on the side, she says.