Do you agree that it is your mother Aparna Sen's ‘Mr and Mrs Iyer' that has provided you a national platform as an actress?

Yes. I am honoured that Ma (Aparna) opted for me for the role of the Tamil-Brahmin girl Meenakshi Iyer. With applauds and laurels in India and abroad. I feel it gives a kind of satisfaction. But Ma says, and I've learnt from her to ‘Never consider awards as your yardstick, they are just like flower bouquets… dries overnight!'

Are you saying that ‘Mr and Mrs Iyer' is the gateway to your Bollywood sojourn?

No, not at all. Let me clear it once and for all, that I was never interested in ‘Bollywood' kind of films. They are simply not my cup of tea. I am not here to do jhatkas-matkas under the chute. I always wanted to be associated with meaningful cinema. I don't even watch the
so-called blockbuster movies of Bollywood. Since my childhood, Ma used to keep us away from films. In fact, I was not even allowed to see ‘Ramayan' and ‘Mahabharat' on television. Instead, she brought me the original Sanskrit version to read. While kids of my age grew up watching Aamir Khan, I used to see Vittorio de Sica and Jean Luc Goddard. But I have no regrets!

Yet, one hears that you're doing Madhur Bhandarkar's next?

I agreed to Madhur Bhandarkar's project after watching ‘Chandni Bar'. He is a fabulous director. He belongs to the genre of middle stream cinema. Hmm… somewhat like Ritu mama (Rituparno Ghosh). He knows the nitty-gritties of the script and that's what makes an ordinary story great. I can't identify myself with films like ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain' and ‘Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai'. I admire Jean Renoir, Chekov, Flaherty, John Ford, Capra and the likes of Goddard, Truffaut and Akira Kurosawa. I went gaga over Vittorio de Sica's neo-realist cinema ‘Ladri di Biciclette'. Amongst Indian filmmakers, I appreciate my mother, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Adoor Gopalkrishnan, Mani Ratnam, Mira Nair and Rituparno Ghosh.

Tell us something about Madhur's ‘Page 3', your first Hindi commercial film so to speak?

What am I going to say about this? (laughs) Ask him (pointing to Madhur who was seated nearby). Actually, I play the role of a journalist from Mumbai, who meets Page three celebrities and interacts with them. Madhur is also the co-producer of the film. We'll start shooting by the end of this year in Mumbai. Other cast and technicians are yet-to-be finalised.

You wanted to become a journalist when you were young. Does it have anything to do with your decision to do the film?

… Hello… what do you mean by saying ‘when you were young'? I am still young! (bursts into laughter). Even if I didn't want to be a journalist, I would have accepted this offer. The subject is so interesting that it wouldn't have mattered much. True, when I was younger,
I harbored some hope that I could become a journalist, but that I guess, was lack of focus!

Are you aware that this role was initially offered to Kareena Kapoor, and after she had some date problems, Madhur approached you?

So what's the harm? (laughs) Anyway, I don't know about this incident, and neither am I interested in knowing about it.

You have also signed two more films apart from ‘Page 3.' Tell us something about them?

I'm currently shooting for Manu Rewal's ‘Imandaar'. Then, I'll be acting in Siddharth Srinivasan's horror film ‘Raat Akeli Hai' with Tara Sharma and Boman Irani. The third film is ‘Ammu', directed by debutante Sonali Bose who's come from the US. I'm playing the role of an NRI, and I shall be leaving for the US to pick up an American accent. It's a mother-daughter relationship pitted against a political background.

You started you career as a child artist in ‘Indira'. Later, in your mother's telefilm ‘Picnic', you played Shabana Azmi's daughter. Few years later, you did a cameo in your grandfather Chidananda Dasgupta's ‘Amodini', and finally, avant-garde filmmaker Subrata Sen spotted you for ‘Ek Je Aache Konya' (rigorously ripped off from the Hollywood psycho-thriller ‘Crush' and remade in Hindi as ‘Pyar Tune Kya Kiya'). This graph clearly states that you always wanted to be an actress. Why?

Well... I have always been into theatre. Believe me, some of the good work in theatre happened to me while I was studying at St. Stephens in Delhi. My class did put up
some great theatre and most of the time I acted in them. In fact, we also put up some public performances. I was too small when ‘Indira' happened and I don't even remember. It was one of my mother's commercial Bengali films.
They couldn't find a boy to play her son, so I had to do it. ‘Picnic' was also Ma' s, and altogether, it was a nice experience. The same with ‘Amodini', which was again a family affair. Things became serious after I signed
‘Ek Je Aache Konya'.

What according to you, could be the unique aspect of ‘Mr and Mrs Iyer' to sweep away the National Awards in major categories for this year?

(Pauses for a moment) Ok…to me it is the subject and its treatment. It was a haunting treatise on communal fissures — a love story pitted against the backdrop of communal discord. I feel that violence in Aparna Sen's film comes as a connotation to certain emotional bondage that she wants to establish in her film. If the sequence of the rioters' savagery in the bus is disturbing (Anjan Dutt, playing a petrified Jew, gives away the old Muslim couple Surekha Sikri and Bhisham Sahani, to the rioters and sobs, "Or else… they would have killed me too."), then there are romantic senses where Raja fabricates the story of their honeymoon and love affairs to the teenagers. This symphony of an emotional saga makes it universally acceptable.

How difficult was it to play a Tamil Brahmin wife with a month old baby?

Believe me, it wasn't an easy task. Ma made me go to Chennai for two weeks for research. I discovered a lot of interesting details about Iyers and Iyengars. In fact, I told my Ma to change the name of the boy from Murugan to Santhanam! Iyer's would never name their child Murugan. The Tamil language lines that I used were written and rehearsed by me, of course, with Ma 's permission. I also improvised the accent, and the funniest part was that we used to converse at home like that, even after the film was over! (laughs heartily). I think the most difficult part of playing Mrs Iyer was the baggage. I had to manage a sari, a shawl, bag, high heels and a baby. And the baby would constantly pull my earrings and smear my bindi . As soon as I got those things right, I immediately became Mrs Iyer!

Is it true that after this film, you were flooded with offers from South India?

Yeah... that's true, how do you know? In fact, I got many offers for Tamil films. I had even liked one of the scripts, but couldn't work due to time constraints. I can act in a Tamil film that has English dialogues proportionately. But I simply can't act in a film that requires fluency in Tamil.. aare baba I'm Bengali, not Tamilian!

Now that you are doing films in Bollywood, are you comfortable with Hindi and Urdu dialogues?

I don't think that I am an expert in it. But it won't be difficult to pick up the correct diction. I am sure Madhur will help me. (Looks at him and smiles).

Your mother couldn't make it big in Bollywood as an actress. Do you think that you will be able to do better?

In the first place, I would like to rectify your statement. My mother was never interested in making a mark in Bollywood. Secondly, I am no fool to count myself in the rat race with Kareenas and Bipashas! I am not here for any vengeance, I am working because films that suit my sensibilities are being made more than ever before.

Do you feel burdened by your mother's awesome reputation?

Expectations are always there. Local journos still compare my performance and my style of dialogue delivery with my mom's. It's ridiculous. I am an individual and have my own style… good or bad, whatever! I am Aparna Sen's daughter. I accept it completely. The fact that we get along really well is an added incentive. Bas… that's it!

Last time we met, you told me that you are writing a book on your mother. How far have you completed the book?

Gosh! That's really funny. In fact, I was just thinking about this. I'm so scared it will turn out horrible! (Laughs) In fact, it won't be a biographical document, but a collage of several incidents that would help to know Aparna Sen the person from a closer perspective. Writing runs in my blood. My dadu Chidanand Dasgupta and my baba Mukul Sharma are both well-known writers. Even Ma writes excellent poetry and editorials for her women's magazine Sananda . I love books. (Takes a deep breath). It gives you satisfaction. My favourite authors are Roddy Doyle, Milan Kundera and Garcia Marquez. Amongst Indian classics, Tagore would rank first, Amitava Ghosh is the best amongst contemporary writers. I loved the ‘The God of Small Things'. I read a
lot of poetry. Ted Hughes, Donne, Yeats and Keats are my favourites. I'm not too fond of Shelly.

It was heard that you are going to assist your mother in her next venture ‘Gulel'?

No. How can I assist Ma in direction right now? I am doing four films, and moreover, you need to be mature enough to assist a director of her stature. I think I will have a cameo in the film. Things are yet-to-be-finalised. I think I am acting in Ma 's next Bengali venture, a suspense thriller ‘Goynar Baksho' (Jewelry Box).

Isn't it true that when you take up a new project you emphasize on having workshops? Aren't you confident about yourself?

Workshops give me confidence and build a team spirit. For my films too, be it ‘Ek Je Aache Konya' or even ‘Mr and Mrs Iyer', I did the workshop with colleagues before getting into the act. I feel rehearsals of yore have now evolved into workshops, which is actually a lot better than going straight on the sets. When I did ‘The Changing Room', it was all the more meaningful since the play involved a lot of physical movements and eye contact. It's only better if you know your co-actors for weeks instead of doing projects with absolute strangers. Moreover, there's always a thing or two to learn from colleagues. Some of the best people to workshop with are Rahul Bose, Sohag Sen and definitely Nigel Ward. I feel there are some great theatre personalities like Royston Abel, H. Kanhailal and Rohan Khayyam from whom there's a lot to learn.

Your mother's lived life as she wanted to live it. As a kid or even now, does it have an effect on your social life?

I know exactly what you want to say. I have never replied to such questions. I prefer not to merge my personal life with my professional life. I have no problems with my stepfathers. They are very happy, confident, caring and I enjoy the company of both my stepparents. Relationship depends on individuals. I'm still in touch with my father Mukul Sharma, and he's proud that I have proved my mettle as an actress. The day I won the National Award, guess who had congratulated me first? It was Kalyan, my stepfather. So sweet of him na ? I also share a cordial relationship with my stepmom Vinita. She's the one who's taught me how to cook.

Rumouredly you were seeing Rahul Bose after ‘Mr and Mrs Iyer'. In fact, you both were spotted at pubs and book galleries in Kolkata.

Kya bakwas ! I was never going around with Rahul. He is a very nice co-actor and we have a ‘hi', ‘hello' relationship. The pubs and book galleries that you are talking about were all part of the promotional campaign for ‘Mr and Mrs Iyer'.

You have recently started hosting a television show for women. Are you planning to join the small spectrum sooner or later?

Yeah… I am doing a woman based show ‘Nari', 'coz after Ritu mama 's ‘Titli,' (The Butterfly) I didn't get any wondrous offers from Bengali cinema. And I really wanted to do something in Bengali. This is a show where I interact with the audience and I'm getting an overwhelming response from my Bengali fans. I was also supposed to act in a Bengali serial, but somehow it didn't work out.