Bollywood actor Konkona Sen Sharma, who made her directorial debut last year, on Saturday said making arthouse films in the alternative movie space is not yet a sustainable model in India.
“I think I was very lucky with my first film. But it is not yet a sustainable model. I am in a position of huge privilege having been an actor and also because my family has been associated with the industry,” Sen Sharma said at a session at the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Festival.
“But I wonder what it would be like for my next film, I wonder what it would be like for someone else who has not been an actor before becoming a director. I do not think there is any go-to model for these films. It is more about luck and goodwill,” she said.
Sen Sharma, who made “A Death in the Gunj”, a drama film shot in an old Anglo-Indian town McCluskiegunj that bagged three Filmfare Awards, said she is generally interested in topics which are unexplored, uncomfortable and dark.
“I am generally interested in things which are unexplored, uncomfortable, dark. If everything is light and happy then it is a little boring,” she said with a smile.
“When I was writing it, I did not think it would necessarily get made or I would get the funds for it. But I knew if anybody came forward to produce the film, it would have to be like-minded people. There are not a lot of people, but there are some of us (in the Indian film industry), who are interested in different kind of content,” she said.
Talking about the film where a group of family members are bullish towards the protagonist “Sutu”, as he does not conform to many of their general ideas, Sen Sharma said she associates a lot with the character.
“I feel a lot of myself in all the characters (in the film), but particularly in Sutu,” she said.
Sen Sharma, born to writer-journalist Mukul Sharma and prolific Bengali actor-director Aparna Sen, said she did not feel the pressure of expectation while making her directorial debut as she chose not to think about it much.
“I did not think about it too much. I just kind of let the story drive me. For a long time I was really quiet about it. I wanted to make the film because it interested me. I made the film because I felt compelled to,” she added.
