You seem to be having a great run as far as the box office results of most of your films are concerned.
True. I think somewhere it has to do with the scripts that I'm choosing, the directors I'm working with and also what the audience likes. I've always tried to do something different - right from "Om Shanti Om", "Love Aaj Kal" and now "Aarakshan". I'm glad my efforts have been appreciated so far.
So, it's a conscious effort to do different films every time?
Somewhere people feel I can be part of these different films which is why they are offered to me. But, it's not a conscious decision. I don't think 'Okay, this year I'll do one romantic film, one political thriller and so on.' It depends on what I'm offered at that point of time and if I connect to it.
Saif and you now have three films. Quite an unconventional pairing...
We were fortunate to have Imtiaz direct us in our first film, where people loved us. But we didn't make a conscious decision to do films with one another. It's just a co-incidence that we are offered great scripts. And I like our pairing, I'm glad it's working.
You have "Rana" with Rajinikanth. Is it on the back-burner for now due to his ill health?
Right now I'm not comfortable talking about it because nothing is more important than Rajini sir's health. He knows I'm there for him and I'm not going anywhere. I'm great friends with Soundarya and they know dates are not an issue, as I'll always work around it for them. I mean, come on, it's a Rajini film! In most cases the script matters, but with this one, it's just the Rajini factor that works. One's career is incomplete if one hasn't worked with THE Rajinikanth.
The current mood in the industry reflects that you are the next big thing. Where do you see yourself in the rat race?
It's just been three years and I have been fortunate to work with some of the best in the industry. But, I have a long way to go now. I have become a lot more confident of myself and my craft. I'd rather have a slow and steady climb, than be a flash in the pan. I'm not looking at retiring or getting married in a few years. And what rat race? I'm here for the long run.
Have the zeroes on your pay-cheque increased with every hit?
Absolutely. Where you stand in the market makes a huge difference to everything that you do.
There's a new Deepika that we see now - candid and outspoken...
You know, I've always been like that. I don't know why people think I've changed. I've always spoken honestly. But, I guess you also learn over a period of time and become confident.
While many appreciated your honesty on "Koffee With Karan", it didn't go down too well with a certain section, (namely the Kapoors).
It didn't bother me one bit. It was my show, the questions were asked to me and I answered them the way I wanted to. I'm not answerable to anyone.
You hardly speak about your relationship with Siddhartha...
No. Relationships or not, I believe that people don't need to know about my life beyond a certain point. I understand there is a curiosity about me and Siddhartha, but there's only that much I'll say about my personal life. You can speculate or gossip, it doesn't bother me.
So how do you maintain fickle relationships in the industry. A big deal is made when you are not spotted at SRK's party at Mannat...
I may not be best friends with many, but that does not mean I don't get along with them. If I wasn't at SRK's party it was because I was shooting in Hyderabad. There is no rift or a fight or anything of that sort.
You've always said that you wanted to work with Salman. Do you think other heroines - Asin, Sonakshi - are trying to pip you at that?
Not at all. I have been offered a lot of films with Salman, unfortunately it has not worked out for many reasons. He is definitely on top of my list of actors I'd die to work with. When the time is right, I will do a film with him. I know he wants to work with me, he knows I want to work with him and people know we want to work with each other, so when times comes, we'll get together on screen.
Konkona Sen Sharma, who plays an actor in 'Iti Mrinalini', talks to CT about the drawbacks of being in the film industry, being a working mom and son Haroon You play an actor in "Iti Mrinalini". In real life, what's that one thing about this film industry that you feel you had never bargained for while making a career choice?
If I were to talk about the drawbacks of this industry, I would say there is a lot of interest in private lives of actors. I have been told that this interest comes with the territory. There is a growing trend of intrusion though it's true that things here are nowhere close to what it is in Hollywood. It's acceptable if this interest is shown without compromising on the dignity and respect. Fortunately, my private life has not been intruded.
Even today, you just need to once say that no photographer will be allowed at your mother's place during the interview for everyone to follow your directive. How do you manage to avoid this intrusion at a time and age when the media is even covering the illness of a star's pet? Is it the rub-on effect of the awe your mother inspires or is there something else too?
If you are a big star, there is that much more interest in your life. When I was seeing Ranvir, the media did want to know about my relationship. But I never felt comfortable speaking about it and I politely said so. I guess, it all depends on the person, the journalist and the media in question. Besides, I've always been on the periphery and I am comfortable being that way too.
Mrinalini in Aparna Sen's "Iti Mrinalini" is a heroine who has a child out of wedlock. In real life, what's your take on having a love child?
I am a person who has very few moral hang-ups. I really don't care about the choices others make. Mrinalini is a very vulnerable and insecure person. She doesn't have a good support system to fall back on when she goes through the crisis in her life. She seeks solace in different men. At times, I have not been able to understand the kind of choices that she has made in her life.
Women being exploited by men is nothing new in the industry. These days, the buzz is that even cerebral actors (who don't only rely on their looks to bag movies) lose out on roles if they choose not to compromise. Have you ever heard such horror tales?
I might have heard some rumours here and there. But I have never gone through anything like this.
You say your mother can bring the best out of you as an actor. Who do you think can bring the best out of your mother as an actor?
I can't really say. She is a very good actor. My mother is a perfectionist.
How do you approach your roles as an actor?
I don't have a method as such. When I am doing my mother's movie, I follow her method. When I am doing Rituparno's films, I follow his style. If a director doesn't have a particular style, I prefer rehearsing in advance.
It's taken quite a few years to actually see you again on-screen in Tollywood. Despite doing such good work in Mumbai, why are you conspicuously absent in Tollywood? Is your PR skill suspect?
Honestly speaking, I don't get offers for doing Bengali films. I really wouldn't know the reason why I am not offered the roles. Perhaps, people might be thinking that I might not do their movies. The directors will be in a better position to answer this question. Any which way, I am not really that worried about this thing. I was never that keen about wanting to be an actor. Acting happened to me and, subsequently, things worked out beautifully. So if Bengali movies are not coming my way, I am not really getting tense about it.
Is there any Bengali movie that you watched and yearned that the role come to you?
No. That has never happened to me. But it's also true that I have not watched too many Bengali movies. I plan to watch some that my mother has recommended.
How have you planned your career now?
My son, Haroon, is just four months old. I have just about started doing some endorsements. I am going to read scripts and will probably want to start working on a movie in Mumbai by the end of this year or early next year. It's hard to predict when I will start working. It depends a lot on my son and how he takes to my absence at home. And, of course, it also depends on how good my help is.
Children of working parents sometimes suffer from guilt about not spending enough time with their kids when they become parents. What's your take on that?
I don't feel I lost out on anything because my mother was working. In fact, it has enriched me. I remember going with her to Moscow. During my holidays, I have also been to her shootings. That was a different kind of education. I certainly want to be a working mom.
How much of an involved father is Ranvir?
Oh! Ranvir is a very involved father. Both father and son bond so well. Ranvir loves to give him oil massages and enjoys spending a lot of time with him.
How much of me-time are you getting now?
Very little.
You use both your parents' surnames. What about Haroon?
He is Haroon Shorey. I didn't want to burden him with a surname like Shorey-Sen Sharma.
 As the screening of controversial film Gandu still remains uncertain, we speak to Q, the director of this movie, who thinks that India is on the brink of sexual revolution Kaushik Mukherjee or Q's highly controversial film, Gandu is scheduled to be screened with a special permission from the Ministry of Information and Technology on July 15, in spite of it being considered too sexually explicit. However, the ministry is now said to be having second thoughts and might insist on a disclaimer before the screening, saying that it is for select audience and has not been censored. The fate of the screening will be only known today. Excerpts of an interview with the director... Did you expect so much resistance for the film, even while making it? No. The point of the film, the central premise of the work is sexuality or sexual provocation and also lot of other elements that go with it. This was a simple device to attract attention; otherwise the film would have been brushed off as an art house cinema. Are you sort of pleased with the shock value the film is getting? I don't see why it is shocking for us. This kind of provocation has been a part of every kind of culture. What I am doing right now is a clear reference to the kind of postmodern punk or post 90's shock cinema that came from Japan and Korea a very highly developed form of art. For me, it is difficult to understand why people keep saying that it is something new. All they have to do is simply google about it. Was it awkward shooting explicit scenes, how did you find like-minded actors? There was no awkwardness. It's a small and tight team. Most of them are friends. They trust me. Moreover, they are used to the experiences we have all grew up on. All of us watch this kind of cinema. A film so small, black and white, with only a coloured sex scene, shot on a digital SLR, could you calculate the film's final budget? Actually, I really don't know it myself. In fact, the financing mode of Gandu could be a case study. You have heard of crowd funding, social funding. This is based on a European model, co-production theory. I will plan the script and the film according to the resources available to me. So I will be working backwards. If the content is not produced or supported by anyone else, we will have to keep doing this. So the economics and the available resources will determine how the film will proceed. Like Artists work on recycled products, it's like that. This permission from the ministry for just one screening. Was it too much of a hassle? To be honest, I didn't do anything. Pranav Ashar is the one who really worked hard to get at least one screening. He has shown that it is possible to organise something like this. We hear Gandu is the first of the series... Yes. The real issue is the production of this kind of content. Cinema is seen as a commodity. I am seriously scared of the kind of movies that are being made. The idea of cinema as a capitalist tool is that it should not provoke the audience, but just provide entertainment. I refuse to believe that there aren't more people who think like me, and who want to take action. Maybe there are. But it takes a lot of courage... It is a huge risk in a family driven environment. The question being how do you face your mother? The truth is we are made to be ashamed of our sexuality all the time. Are you going to address homosexuality in some of your later movies? What is there to deal with homosexuality? It's not something different. Every one of us is polysexual. It is in our culture. Take kama sutra, Upanishads, Vaishav Bahabali, shaivak logic, sexuality is mellifluous. Yes, to think ours was the most sexually vibrant country... We actually had reached a pinnacle. Years and years of this conscious effort to understand human sexuality, ideate on that, everything was done, here in India. But once we reached the highest point, decadence set in. It is a circle. The sexual movement has to start rolling again, and probably, now is the time On a positive stride Speaking about the permissions, Pranav Ashar, head of Taj Enlightenment film society (which is organising the Naya Film Festival, where Gandu will be screened) is pretty optimistic that the permission will be granted albeit with the disclaimer. "Even earlier we were permitted to screen a film like Inshallah Football. Gandu will go for censorship soon after. Some cuts will be made by us even before sending it to the censors. The film will also be released in DVDs and most probably with the name changed to G or The Loser, to attract lesser controversies, " he said. |
