Konkona’s mom didn’t let her watch commercial films

Critically-acclaimed actor Konkona Sen Sharma (left) says her “middle-of-the-road” sensibilities on movies come from the fact that as a child, she was not allowed to watch commercial entertainers — either in Hindi or Bengali.

The daughter of celebrated filmmaker Aparna Sen (inset), Konkona says, “I did not really grow up watching commercial Hindi films or Bengali films. My mother did not allow me to watch it. So, I have always watched different kinds of films and my sensibilities lie with more middle-of-the-road sensible kind of cinema. So that reflects in my films as well.”

Konkona will be seen in a biopic on Gour Hari Das, portraying the role of the freedom fighter’s wife Lakshmi Das. The film was recently screened at the London Indian Film festival, New York Indian Film Festival, Venice Film Festival and has already won an award at Extravagant India Film Festival in Paris.

“To a certain extent, the international return stamp does work. After all, these films are niche films that have very little publicity. They don’t have the budget to do the marketing in such a way that it reaches everybody,” says Konkana. “Many people don’t know about it, so film festivals do help in terms of publicity. That way, people across the world get to watch such films. It is great for such films which don’t have much funds to begin with,” she adds.