The most endearing performances of the commercial-film-imitates-art-and-reality, Life In A Metro, are by Konkona Sensharma and Irrfan Khan. While Irrfan manages to portray a roadside lech as a man with a heart and ultimately as husband material, Konkona’s portrayal of a sensitive young girl in search of a husband is so real, you could just reach out and touch her. And, you would touch flesh, you know that, even as she peers questioningly over the glasses habitually perched on her unassuming nose! And so, you want to give her the advice you think she needs, you want to cry with her and you absolutely need to be there for her during moments of crisis.
The thing about Konkona is that she is unafraid. She is unafraid to act as is required by her role. She can stand up there on a city rooftop and scream her frustrations out, screwing up her face to near-ugly cuteness and obviously not give a care about it. And she can cry her heart out, wrinkling up her face till you want to hand her a kerchief and she can feel terror so real, you know she has lived through it. Konkona remains, somehow, always tangible.... She answers questions bluntly and with a certain refreshing straightforwardness, rare to come across....

Which way is Hindi cinema heading? Do you feel that ‘fringe’ cinema is moving into the mainstream?
I don’t keep in touch with trends. I watch movies but I cannot foresee what will happen. Having said that, a film like Life In A Metro, would not have worked earlier. It has ingredients of mainstream, blended with a realistic approach. It seems to make sense to me. Even 10 years ago, I would have watched a movie like Metro; my friends and family would have liked it; but no one would have put money on it. I feel that audiences would have accepted it but I cannot speak for all audiences. A film like this does well in the multiplexes and I guess there were no multiplexes then.
If you bracket films into genres, you are making them into mere commodities. I look at films as an expression of art, more than that as an expression of someone’s vision. You cannot look at it as mainstream, fringe, art; you have to look at it holistically.

Do you choose roles that are on the fringe of art cinema or are these the roles offered to you?
Obviously these are roles that are offered to me. Honestly speaking, I cannot categorise my films – films are good, not good – but, it is thankless to figure out which film belongs to which genre. I really go by the script when choosing a film but there is no magic ingredient that helps me decide. I go with my gut. Can I trust the director to make a good film...?

Playing parallel roles in mainstream cinema and being noticed... is this your strength?
You know, I don’t see films as first lead, second lead…. I see different stories, different people to tell the different stories. I would, however, not do a part that is meaningless. You can have two or three scenes with impact and you can also have a heroine who just stands around and has nothing to do.

Are you uncomfortable doing masala films? Why not the dance routines?
Technically, I am not a great dancer. I enjoy dancing with my friends but it’s just a free flowing thing. I know my strengths and weaknesses and I don’t like doing things I am not good at. But, when you have a great role, you may have to do certain things that go with it. For instance, I may not want to do an intimate scene or dance but if I had to, I would have to do the best with it.

How different is it working with your mother?
Every director is different but I enjoy working with her a lot – she is very creatively, very crazily involved in film-making. Her approach has influenced me in my way of thinking. I too tend to be drawn to more realistic films – smaller, intimate, thought-provoking cinema. She makes that kind of cinema.

As an actor, I do sometimes tend to get slack and my mother can really push me, she gets so passionately involved. We have clashes but by and large we agree on things. We give each other a lot of space and respect. My favourite role in the world is 15 Park Avenue and it was her film, Mr and Mrs Iyer for which I received the National Award.