Lust, Caution

Konkona Sen Sharma Directed The Mirror Is The Standout Film Of Lust Stories 2. The Director Converses About The Genesis Of The Film And More With Tanisha Bhattacharya

- TANISHA BHATTACHARYA

Konkona Sen Sharma has been in the industry for decades now and has established herself not only as an actress of many shades in the Bengali and Hindi film industries but also as a perceptive director with a penchant for storytelling. Currently, she’s being lauded for her short film The Mirror, a part of the Lust Stories 2 anthology featuring Tillotama Shome and Amruta Subhash in the lead. Her nuanced narrative featuring the female gaze and desires has hit the bull’s eye with the audience. In an engaging conversation, Konkona reiterates how she is an actor first and then a director, both roles driven by passion and intent. She also talks about the influence her mother, Aparna Sen, has had on her. Excerpts:

Tillotama Shome and Amruta Subhash are quite the unconventional choices for a film depicting lust.

I was clear that I wanted Tillotama. She was perfect as Ishita. Then she was the one who mentioned Amruta because I was asking her who she thought would be perfect for Seema and when she said Amruta Subhash, I instantly agreed and we reached out to her, and that’s how it happened.

Did you ever see yourself helming a subject like Lust Stories after doing a film like A Death in the Gunj?