Faced rejections from production houses for my film: Actor Konkona Sen Sharma

She got the best director award for 'A Death in the Gunj' at the 2017 New York Indian Film Festival.
Actress-director Konkona Sen Sharma. | (File Photo/PTI)
Actress-director Konkona Sen Sharma. | (File Photo/PTI)

KOLKATA: Actor Konkona Sen Sharma has said she endured several rejections before finding like-minded producers for her directorial debut 'A Death in the Gunj'.
 

Expressing apprehensions over her next venture, Sen Sharma said the situation might be worse for industry newcomers.

 "I had a huge privilege, having been an actor in this industry for many years. It was easy for me to meet people. Not that all of them agreed though… The film was rejected by four-five studios. Then the right set of people came and it was made, although with limited resources," she said yesterday during a session at the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet here.
 

Sen Sharma, daughter of eminent actor and filmmaker Aparna Sen, got the best director award for 'A Death in the Gunj' at the 2017 New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF). The film also fetched two Filmfare awards.
 

Recalling the days when she was writing the script for the film, the 'Omkara' actor said, "When I was writing it, I knew that someone who comes forward to finance the film has to have a similar mindset. I knew it was going to be a niche film, I knew it is not going to be everyone's cup of tea."
 

Many talented people are not getting the recognition they deserve due to lack of proper financial backing, she rued.

 "I wonder what it will be like for my next film… I wonder what it will be like for somebody else who may not have been an actor before becoming a director.... It is so much about luck and good will," she observed.
 

The actor said she has a plot in her mind for her next film and wants to build on it.

 "Just vaguely thinking about it (next film) in my head… I don't want to make a film every year. You have to take time and come up with something worthwhile," she said, adding that dark and uncomfortable subjects interest her.
 

Asked about her choice of subject for her directorial debut, Sen Sharma said it was a four-page short story that encapsulated an era that has gone by.

 "I heard the story from my father when young and it fascinated me for a long time," she said.
 

'A Death in the Gunj' is a thriller set in the tiny town of McCluskiegunj, where Konkona spent her vacations. 

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