With a National Award win for Mr and Mrs Iyer (2002), and a few films to her name in Bengali and English, Konkona Sen Sharma started her Hindi film journey with Page 3, 20 years ago. Mention it to her and she says, “I hadn’t thought of it as my Bollywood debut, because I was not sure if I wanted to continue being an actor or get a real job instead.”

She adds, “I got to know Mumbai during the time I shot for Page 3. Madhur (Bhandarkar, director) and his assistant took me around the city in local trains. I saw many locations and made some wonderful friends. (Actors) Tara Sharma, Sandhya Mridul and I are friends to this day. That made me stay in acting. After Page 3, I decided to move to Mumbai.”

The actor has some interesting projects ahead, including Metro...In Dino. Directed by Anurag Basu and a sequel to Life In A...Metro, Konkona is the only common actor in the 2007 release and its upcoming sequel. The 45-year-old says, “I love Anurag; he is a lovely person, relaxed and stress-free. He has excellent command over his craft. I don’t feel any responsibility (of being the only common link). Anurag has shoulders broad enough to handle that responsibility.”

Konkona was paired opposite late actor Irrfan Khan in the 2007 film. She reminisces, “This time, I missed Irrfan so much. In the first movie, I was the one who named his character Monty. While shooting some scenes, we kept remembering him. There were some scenes where I got emotional as well.”