‘I am not competitive’

The President is Coming deals with people who have delusions of grandeur, says Konkona Sen Sharma in a chat with V. Ananth

Konkona Sen as Maya Roy in The President is Coming

Konkona Sen Sharma is one of the rare actresses, who impresses the viewers with her prowess to get into the skin of the character she plays. Whether it was the way she mesmerised the viewers in Page 3 with which she breezed into the film scenario in Bollywood or her performance in Mr & Mrs Iyer, Konkona has proved her merit time and again.

About her role in her latest film The President Is Coming, Konkona says, "the role is quite different from the ones I have done before". The President Is Coming is based on the popular English play of the same name. The film has been directed by Kunaal Roy Kapur who had also directed the play. Rohan Sippy has produced the film.

Konkona says she was quite intimidated when she was asked to listen to the narration of the script because she was the only outsider to act in the film version, whereas all the other actors had already acted in the play and hence were familiar with each and every character of the film.

"I was in awe of the entire cast, because I admire each and everyone as actors. All of them knew their lines, including my lines, very well. They knew the nuances of my character because they had acted in the play for quiet some time and were well versed with the play and its characters."

Konkona adds, "The reason why Rohan Sippy and Kunaal Roy Kapur wanted to cast me in the film was that they wanted a face which is slightly more known than the rest of the actors, though all of them are a talented lot. If I did not suit the part, they would not have bothered to cast me in the film at all. I went to Rohan Sippy’s office for a narration of the script but had no idea that it would actually end up being an entire script reading session with most of the cast involved. It was a fun evening and I came on board driven by the sheer madness of the film. I loved the concept and thought it would be fun to be part of something that crazy".

"The dialogue derives a lot of inspiration from their stand-up comedy and the film is full of smart one-liners", quips Konkona.

"The writer Anuvab Pal and the director Kunaal Roy Kapur come from the talented league of standup comedians. The kind of language used in the film is very Indian English. During the workshops done for the play and the film this was improvised and thoroughly brushed up to make it sound authentic. The film was shot in 24 days. Almost everyone behind the scene was roped in to be a part of the film. There was overall theatre camaraderie since most of the cast and crew came from a theatre background."

What is the role that she is playing in the film?

"I play this crazy Bengali novelist Maya Roy, who takes herself very seriously and is even keen on meeting President Bush and shake his hand, because she is his fan. What is interesting about Maya is that she is also a radical woman, who is also very excited because she comes to know that she is nominated for a Crossover Book award"

About Kunaal Roy Kapur, she says, "I relied on Kunal’s brief because frankly I had made it a point only to read my lines during the reading without even bothering to know about my character. When I set out to face the camera for the film, I did not know what the script was. All that I was told was that the characters in the film were not real".

Konkona continues, "The President Is Coming is not a psychological study. The character of Maya is not a caricature completely though it moves in that direction. The film deals with people who have delusions of grandeur. I do not hesitate to say that most of the times we meet people who have delusions of grandeur. Though I concede that as far as real life is concerned, I am not at all competitive. However, each and every character in The President Is Coming is competitive." — MF