Konkana Sen Sharma on her upcoming film Talvar and splitting with husband Ranvir Shorey
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 17, 2015)

Soon after Wake Up Sid released, Konkona Sen Sharma tied the knot with her date of five years, Ranvir Shorey, in a private ceremony on September 3, 2010. On March 15, 2011, the couple welcomed a baby boy, Haroon. Three days ago, the actress took to social media to announce, "Ranvir and I have mutually decided to separate, but continue to be friends and co-parent our son."

When Mirror caught up with her, Koko, as she is fondly known, was in a cheery, chatty mood. "My separation is an open-and-shut case. Go ahead, ask me a scandalous question, I'm all ears!" she joked.

Describing herself as a 'reckless tweeter', she admits that she shares personal details about what she's eating and doing. The 'split' was one of those confessions. "I like the tag 'reckless tweeter' because it absolves me of all kinds of responsibility. It's all on the back burner now and I'm not forced to reply to people's comments," she shrugs. "Happiness is not a permanent condition. Life by its very definition means that it's a journey filled with ups and downs, no one has a problem-free life."

Dressed in a long, back kurta and white salwar, Koko is at her slimmest. The compliment is welcomed with a, "Yaaay." She goes on to exclaim, "Isn't that what we all want? To be thin! It's one of my priorities too but I'm not obsessed about fitness. My workouts are erratic but I do yoga."

She was last seen in, Gour Hari Dastaan: The Freedom File, which got plenty of critical acclaim on the festival circuit but tanked at the box-office. "If only people knew why certain films don't work, there would be formulas for success. But since the failure of a film is not in my control, I do not concern myself with it," she retorts.

She is confident about her upcoming film, Talvar, on the 2008 Noida double murders of Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj Banjade. She recalls watching Akira Kurosawa's 1950-crime-thriller, Rashomon, which Talvar is being compared to, while still in her teens. "Rashomon is pure brilliance. I've seen it many times and can understand the comparisons. In the black-and-white film too, four people narrate a murder and each time, you get yourself a different murderer," she explains. "The fine line my character walked between being guilty, not-so-guilty and innocent, is what enticed me to take this role up."

The other reason was her trust in Vishal Bhardwaj with whom she had done Omkara, and with Meghna Gulzar directing it, she knew it would be a quality film. "And of course, I love Irrfan Khan. I missed not having too many scenes with him. Most of my scenes are with Neeraj Kabi who plays my husband in the film," she says.

Recalling the shoot through the 'grotesque' Delhi summer she was reminded of why she never wanted to be an actress. It started with a Rituparno Ghosh film in Bengali, Titli, which she didn't take seriously. It was well-received and led to Mr and Mrs Iyer which she was never keen on doing. "I even told my mom to cast a sweet, Tam-Brahm girl in my place. I won the National Award but continued to live in the denial for years," she laughs.

Konkana has three Bengali-film releases this year and asserts that being a part of the trio has been the most satisfying experience. There's Shajarur Kanta, a story from the detective Byomkesh Bakshy series with Dhritiman Chatterjee as an older detective Kadambari is about Rabindranath Tagore and his sister-in-law, who was his muse and with whom he was supposed to be in a 'relationship'. "That invited a lot of comment, to put it mildly. It's another biopic in my bag and unbelievably gratifying," she says. The third is Shesher Kobita, based on Tagore's novella, The Last Poem.

Now, Koko wants to be a part of an English film or an English TV show as it's the language she is most comfortable with. "But even those with agents aren't getting great work in the West so I'm going to be patient and wait for good content."

She's keen on Hindi fiction TV and wants to take a script that she has written to the floors next year. "I would rather burn it than give it to someone else to direct as it's all in my head. But my son is still very young and filmmaking is a lengthy process," she sighs.

What about another collaboration with her mother, actress-filmmaker Aparna Sen? "My mom and I talk everyday about what excites us. She always has two-three ideas about films we should work on together," she smiles.

We all, at some point in our lives, have faced unnecessary delays and the resultant frustration while trying to get work done in a ‘sarkaari’ office. For most of us, it takes just couples of days or visits to get things in places. For the unfortunate few, it takes weeks, months and even couple of years to reach their goal. But imagine, having to struggle for almost 32 years, knocking on 321 doors and writing as many as 1043 letters in order to get your rightful due! Most of us would call it quits mid-way or at the very start. But Mr Gour Hari Das relentlessly went from door to door and did not quit till the very end. And this extraordinary tale has been captured on celluloid by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan in Gour Hari Dastaan. The subject itself is quite strong and it’s been made very well, which makes the film one of the best of the year!

The story of the movie: Gour Hari Das (Vinay Pathak) is a freedom fighter who participated in the independence struggle from Balasore, Odisha and even went to jail for 90 days. In 1976, when his son Alok wanted to get admission in a college under the freedom fighter’s quota, the real struggle began. Das didn’t have a Freedom Fighter’s Certificate and whatever papers he had with him were not sufficient for the various government authorities to grant him one. Yet, Das continued to meet various authorities and officials in the hope that one day he’ll get his due. Many doubted Das and felt that he’s a liar and crazy. In 2002, he came across two journalists – Rajiv Singhal (Ranvir Shorey) and Anita (Tannishtha Chatterjee) – and they decided to write an article on Gour Hari Das and his struggles.

Talking of performances, Vinay Pathak delivers arguably the finest performance of his career. He totally looks the part despite being so young. One totally forgets all his past works, including the much loved Bheja Fry, when one sees him in this film. His dialogue delivery is impeccable and compliments very well with the kind of person that he is playing. Here’s a performance that would surely be remembered for years to come! Konkona Sen Sharma too is excellent in portraying the old Lakshmi Das. She delivers a terrific performance. One wishes she had more screen time. Ranvir Shorey is amazing and gives his hundred percent to this role. He plays a very crucial character and he does his job beautifully. Tannishtha Chatterjee as always looks charming and manages to impress.

The rest of the actor appear briefly but leave a lasting impact. These are Vikram Gokhale (Chief Minister), Vipin Sharma (Ahirkar), Rajit Kapoor (Mohan Joshi), Saurabh Shukla (Special Secretary – Freedom Cell), Rahul Vohra (Editor), Siddharth Jadhav (Tout), Neha Pendse (Das’s daughter-in-law), Ganesh Yadav (Home Minister), Vinay Apte (MLA Olwe), Murli Sharma (Godbole), Mohan Kapur (Doctor), Bharat Dabholkar (Guard) and the actor who plays Alok. Special mention goes to Saurabh Shukla – he is outstanding! And good to see veteran actors Asrani and Viju Khote’s cameos in the film!

L Subramaniam’s music is subtle, used minimally but wherever used, it leaves a mark. Alphonse Roy’s cinematography is decent. Resul Pookutty’s sound designing as always is flawless. Chetan Pathak’s art direction gives the film a very realistic as well as appealing look. Dialogues are simple and yet sharp. C P Surendran and Ananth Narayan Mahadevan’s screenplay is engaging. Ananth Narayan Mahadevan’s direction ensures that in the absence of so-called entertaining moments, the film manages to grip the viewers. And he manages that for most part of this 111-minute-long film. At few places, the film does drag but overall, no complaints. The manner in which the various characters ask or indirectly imply whether we were better off during the British rule is quite smartly done. Also, the lead character never raises his voice or gives long heroic speeches and yet, there’s enough in the film to keep one engaged. This was no easy task and Ananth Narayan Mahadevan indeed deserves brownie points. Great work and hope he continues to make such great films!

Some of the best scenes:
1. Gour Hari Das gives his jailor’s certificate to Alok
2. Gour Hari Das meets Freedom Cell staffer (superb!)
3. Gour Hari Das with Rajiv and Anita in the Irani café
4. Gour Hari Das meets Godbole
5. Gour Hari Das meets the tout
6. Gour Hari Das’s scenes with his society members
7. Gour Hari Das’s scenes with MLA Olwe and his guard
8. Gour Hari Das meets Mohan Joshi
9. Gour Hari Das meets a doctor
10. The climax

On the whole, Gour Hari Dastaan is one of the most satisfying films to have released this year. It tells a true story of a man who knows how to fight till the very, very end and that too on his principles. Performances are exemplary by Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey and Konkona Sen Sharma. Sadly, it has got a very low-key release. Here’s hoping the film picks up and gets released in more screens so that genuine efforts like Gour Hari Dastaan don’t go unnoticed or unappreciated!

My rating - **** out of 5!

WILL BROTHERS WORK?

Director Karan Malhotra made an impressive debut with Agneepath. It was a big film in terms of scale and casting and Malhotra handled the film like a pro. Now he is back with Brothers and yet again, he seems to be in control. It is the official remake of Warrior (2011) and stars Akshay Kumar, Sidharth Malhotra and Jackie Shroff. The trailer of the film has been damn impactful. Both Akshay and Sidharth have done a fantastic job as evident from the promos. And the way they have trained for the film – it’s shocking as well as stunning! The film also stars Jacqueline Fernandez and she plays Akshay’s wife. She too seems to be having a significant role in the film. Lastly, there’s a sizzling hot item number of Kareena Kapoor. She has never looked so hot before!

What goes against the film is that it might be too violent that might put away a section of audiences. However, the hype is there and it’s releasing in the Independence Day weekend. Hence, it can really score big time and can even turn out to be the biggest hit of Akshay Kumar’s career if all goes well!

The other release of the week is Gour Hari Dastaan, based on the real-life living freedom fighter Gour Hari Das. The film traces his journey of how the government authorities failed to give him the freedom fighter status on frivolous grounds. The lead is portrayed by Vinay Pathak and Konkona Sen Sharma plays his wife. Tannishtha Chatterjee, Ranvir Shorey also feature in this film directed by Ananath Narayan Mahadevan. The topic of the film is such that it will appeal only to the niche audience. Even then it can work and excel, especially if reports are extremely positive.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE BROTHERS OR GOUR HARI DASTAAN AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!

BOMBAY TIMES (August 11, 2015)

Konkona Sen Sharma will be seen in Gour Hari Dastaan after a considerable gap
Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; July 27, 2015)


Ask her what prompted her to make a comeback with this film and she says she found the story very moving. “The basic premise is about a man Gour Hari Das, who struggled to get recognition from the government, but it has been made contemporary with the issues we are facing today, the quality of life and kind of freedom we have,” elaborates Konkana who is also excited about Saari Raat, an 80-minute film directed by her mother Aparna Sen. “It is also special for another reason and that is it’s a collaboration between three Indian and three Pakistani directors that Zee has initiated as part of the process of integration,” she says.

Konkona, who has done several films including Mr & Mrs Iyer, 15 Park Avenue and Iti Mrinalini helmed by her mother says she is her favourite director. “It’s wonderful working with her again and again. I have that much trust in her artistic sense and faith in her vision. We get along well, and are friends in real life since I was a young girl. I sometimes tell her things that I can’t tell even my friends. She is very broadminded, progressive, bohemian, an icon for women everywhere. It’s a privilege growing up as the daughter of a strong and resilient woman,” elucidates Konkona. At the same time, she says it’s hazardous working with family. “We have arguments over food or hair on the sets, which goes into the next day, but the pros outweigh the cons” smiles Konkona, who even acted with her mother in Titli and Iti Mrinalini. “In both the films our reel world was closer to our real world. So I didn’t have to work on the dynamics or body language,” she quips. In Titli, she played Aparna Sen’s daughter and in Iti Mrinalini, a semi-autobiographical film of Aparna, she played a younger version of her mother.

Her line-up of films in the near future includes Talvar (based on the double murder case in Noida) directed by Meghna Gulzar and Lipstick Wale Sapne about four women helmed by Alankrita Shrivastava. Having worked with several female directors, ask her if it is different being directed by women and she says, “It is not based on genre. I don’t like to stereotype because it limits us. It depends on person to person. There are women directors who are not considerate and sensitive, and there are male directors who are sensitive and not brash or aggressive.”

Soon, Konkona herself is planning to turn director. “The script is ready and I have organised the funds too, only the details have to be sorted out,” signs off the actress.

Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; July 2, 2015)

While real-life heroes generally do not shy away from quoting exorbitant amounts to lend their lives to the big screen, Gour Hari Das has a special demand as far as his royalty payment goes. The 84-year-old freedom struggler, who forms the subject of Ananth Mahadevan’s upcoming biopic titled Gour Hari Dastaan, has asked the makers to sign the Rs 1 lakh cheque in the name of a charitable organisation.

Says Mahadevan, “He was aware that we were not out to exploit his life’s war in the fashion that Hindi films have become notorious for. He was shying away from quoting a figure, but when we insisted he smiled and said ‘I leave it to you’. We told him what we had donated Rs 1 lakh to Sindhutai Sapkal and her ashram (after a biopic on her) and asked if he would be comfortable with the same amount. He asked us to sign the cheque in the name of a charity. He could have seen this as an opportunity to earn some money, but his benevolence was there for all to see.”

Das, who originally hails from Odisha, admits he never brought up the subject of remuneration or rights purchase. “I told the makers that I was not in it for the money, but if, as they insisted, a contract had to be signed, I would leave it to their discretion. But I asked them to make out a cheque to one of my charity organisations, which they complied with. The real reward was the makers’ honesty in seeing the project through and portraying the story with a lot of sensitivity,” he says.

Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 24, 2015)

For Resul Pookutty, Ananth Narayan Mahadevan's upcoming film, Gour Hari Dastaan: The Freedom File is not just a biopic. It is the personal journey of a man, Gour Hari Das, who has invested so many years of his life running after a piece of paper, the Freedom Fighter's Certificate, which would help him establish his participation in the struggle for independence and get his son the extra marks he needed to get admission to a polytechnic in Matunga.

"This had to come through to the audience in a subtext. Also the sense of confinement that this man, who is trapped in a strange situation, feels, whether he's in his own office or visiting other offices. Different layers of sound were recorded and posted in a cluttered surround sound environment to give the impression of many lives moving around this one man who stood alone and apart," points out Resul, the film's sound designer.

The Academy Award winner also had to convey the passage of time through sound. This proved to be a challenge as in the space of a single frame, the protagonist progresses from being a 12-yearold boy in the vanar sena delivering secret messages to freedom fighters, to being an older man in present day Mumbai.

Resul visited every location and recorded the sounds to convey the emotion on screen. Resul created theme music pieces, or leitmotifs, for everyone in the film, including Gour and a journalist (Ranvir Shorey), who is dealing with his own trauma.

"Then there's his son who rebels in the '70s and becomes a hippie, moving from town to the western suburbs and then further away to Dahisar, in a bid to distance himself from his father," explains Resul. "It was a creative decision between Ananth, the composer Dr L Subramaniam and me to use the support of music, both ethically and emotionally to establish this."

He also created a beautiful piece which he played on his personal violin for Mrs Das (played by Konkona Sen Sharma). She is with her husband all through his struggle, except in one scene where she breaks down and tells him society thinks he's mad. "Earlier in the film, when her son says that his father is running after an unnecessary piece of paper, she shows a streak of rebellion by banging the utensils she's washing in the kitchen," Resul points out.

He also had to keep in mind that when establishing the Mumbai of the past, there were no sounds of bikes revving and the cabs had to be old model Fiats. "I knew I had pulled it off when Ananth got up in the middle of a screening and made a request for silence little realising that the distracting chatter was from the ambience track," he smiles.

Resul is confident the film will find a space amongst viewers because it's not just the personal story of a man's struggle but a reflection of what all of us have collectively done to the country post independence.

How do you prove you are who you are? Ananth Mahadevan's upcoming film gets a soldier for Independence to ponder
Kunal Guha (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 14, 2015)

That modern Indian society has no room or time for nostalgia is evident when in the age of social media, you meet a man who judges his worth against relaying crucial messages on foot, sometimes taking as long as three days to get a single communication across.

Gour Hari Das, 84, one of thousands of freedom fighters who surrendered the joys of youth to fighting the British, was a key member of the 'vaanar sena', a troupe of teens who'd sprint along railway tracks, the train's beacon guiding their path at night for fear of being arrested during the day, to deliver confidential communication. Once, when he wasn't as lucky, he even went to jail.

He doesn't consider this a struggle. What ended up being one was proving that all of the above is true.

The Oriya freedom fighter's 32-year-long attempt to acquire a tampatra that would acknowledge that he was indeed part of the freedom struggle is the subject of actor-turned-director Ananth Mahadevan's film, Gour Hari Daastaan, whose teaser (released last week) garnered considerable curiosity.

Sitting snug beside him on a sofa at his Dahisar home, Das rewinds his memory back to 1931 when he was born to Hari Das, a freedom fighter, in the village of Ikda in Orissa. His recollection of life there is smudgy, possibly because the family was always on the move to evade arrest. As a 14-year-old, Das joined his father in rebellion when he signed up with the vaanar sena, attending prabhat pheris or morning protests to critique British rule.

Along with friend and family on a fateful day in February 1945, he was to hoist the Indian flag at a common square in Jhadpimpal. An excited Das spent the evening before drawing a rangoli around the podium, unable to sleep a wink that night. "At the break of dawn, British officers, who had got a whiff of our plans, arrived to warn us. We went ahead anyway and were arrested. I was sentenced to eight months imprisonment and sent to Balasore District Jail," he says. The spirit of protest didn't leave him even when he was put behind bars. Often, he'd be part of a group that paraded within prison grounds, banging utensils to draw attention to inmate rights.

One successful attempt got them to convince the jailor to allow prisoners use water to clean their utensils. The practice in place was to use crushed brick powder, known to bring a shine to brass vessels.

It's hardly surprising when, in his characteristic blunt manner, he says his life turned worthless once the freedom struggle wound up. Enlisting for Mahatma Gandhi's Nayee Taalim scheme, he began working with the Khadi and Village Industries Commission. "Until recently, I would stitch my own clothes from khadi, and blouses and petticoats for my wife, too," he says, when wife Laxmi adds, Mumbai's muggy weather made her give up the laborious textile. Mahadevan zeroed in on Vinay Pathak and Konkona Sen Sharma to essay their warm relationship on screen.

It was while at the Khadi Board in 1972, Das says, that an initiative to collate records of freedom fighters had him consider signing up. Years later, when his son, Anil had to apply for an engineering, that he realised a certification of his nationalistic services would have come handy. His son bagged a computer engineering seat at IIT Mumbai on merit nevertheless but Das' attempt for a chit of acknowledgment continued.

From his cupboard, he fishes out a file that holds proof of every application he made to the various government offices. It's just the sort of archival material that Mahadevan was seeking for his screenplay. The first application he pulls out dates back to September 18, 1972. "From the collector's office in Old Custom House at Ballard Pier to the Freedom Fighter's Cell in Mantralaya, I'd make trips every other day. This continued for over three decades. There came a time when I was known to every secretary and superintendent, some of them disbelieving of how a slight man as I could've fought any struggle."

When the officials began routinely claiming that they hadn't received Das' follow-up correspondence by mail, he decided to make them personal visits. "I'd deliver every letter by hand and collect a signed acknowledgement," he says.

Negotiating the red tape that government offices are infamous for, introduced Das to a whole new world. "Once a man who'd frequent the sales tax office in Bandra offered to get me a Central government validation, even though I was applying for state government relief. In exchange, he wanted 25 per cent of the compensation," remembers Das, who refused the offer.

Post his retirement in 1989, Das got more time for rigorous followups. "Mantralaya, you know," he shares, "has a drum where correspondence considered 'unwanted' by authorities is dumped to shred later. I've written to multiple chief ministers as my struggle outlived most governments." One such head of state suggested that Das apply for certification in Orissa because that's where he was jailed. It was also to ensure that one individual didn't draw benefits from more than one state. "I didn't think that made sense. I didn't fight for Orissa's independence. I fought for the nation's."

Finally, in 2004, he received a recommendation after the Orissa government validated his identity. Das received compensation with arrears from 1989, the year he retired from service.

It's this story that makes it difficult to write him off as a tired cynic even when he says, "Those born in independent India will never truly appreciate the implication of being independent."

The film, slated for an August release, featuring Emmy award-winning Alphonse Roy as cinematographer and Oscar-winner Resul Pookutty as sound designer, was shown to Das, Lakshmi and their two sons recently. But Das wasn't impressed with the outcome. "I didn't like it because there was no anticipation, suspense. I knew exactly how the story would fold up," he laughs.

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 29, 2015)

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 9, 2015)

BOMBAY TIMES (October 31, 2014)

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 29, 2014)

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 27, 2014)

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 23, 2014)