Konkona Sen Sharma is on a high. While her first full-fledged Hindi film in three years Ek Thi Daayan opened last week to mostly positive reviews, Konkona’s outing as Diana has received accolades. And, this Friday, Konkona was back in select theatres with Goynar Baksho, a Bengali film directed by her mother Aparna Sen. “I am very excited about Goynar Baksho because it is a pet project of my mother. She has waited almost a decade to make this film. Also, the film is releasing in theatres outside West Bengal with English subtitles. Unlike Ek Thi Daayan, I am the one getting spooked by Mausami Chatterjee’s character in Goynar Baksho,” says the actress.
The 33-year-old knows a thing or two about scaring people after Ek Thi Daayan. On various networking sites people have been talking about how they wouldn’t want to enter an elevator with Konkona. “I have been hearing this from people. A friend on Twitter said that I am just as petrifying in real life,” she says with a laugh. “This is the first time that I am not playing a moral upright, earnest character. And, I love it. I like being scary. I’d love to do more roles like Diana that have shades of grey.”
Though she loved shooting her first horror film, Konkona is not a huge fan of the genre. “I watch horror films but I get scared very easily. I only watch them when I am feeling particularly brave and Ranveer (Shorey) is at home.” The last toe-curling, stomach-tingling horror flick Konkona enjoyed was 2009 release Grace. “The film is about a mother who gives birth to a still born. Her grief was so tremendous that the baby comes alive with an appetite for human blood,” she says with a nervous laugh.
Horror films might be the only chink in the armour of the actress who has balanced personal and professional life with aplomb. The actress shot five films last year, including Ek Thi Daayan, when her son Haroon was a year old. “I have some super-cool and super-strong women around me. My biggest inspiration for the kind of mother I want to be is my mother. She was always working when I was young and she made it look so easy. She has always done what she wanted to do. There was never any societal pressure on how she had to live her life. More than a conventional mother, she is my friend,” And, that’s the kind of mother Konkona wants to be to Haroon.
After a year of constant shooting, Konkona is looking forward to taking things easy on the work front this year. “The films that I shot, will be released. I don’t think I’ll start a new film this year. I am taking a little break. We are moving homes and I want to spend time with Haroon. I think, raising a boy in this day and age is a lot more complicated. There are so many different kinds of messages. I want to teach him to respect woman and see people beyond labels of gender and religion.”