Shooting 'Laaga Chunari...' turned into Bengali affair

Konkona Sen Sharma has fond memories of shooting for Pradeep Sarkar's "Laaga Chunari Mein Daag" and the endless dollops of Bengali cuisine that was available on the sets.

"There was a constant flow of Bengali cuisine on the sets because all of us were Bengali and, of course, everyone spoke in rapid-fire Bengali."

Kunal Kapoor would often scratch his head wondering what was being said, laughs Konkona: "I just loved the food and the atmosphere on the sets and, yes, I'm going to miss the warmth of the unit."

She has just shot a song with Abhishek Bachchan for the movie. "Abhishek is loads of fun on the sets. I get along so well with his mother anyway.

"And I really like Kunal Kapoor. We've done two back-to-back Yash Raj Films 'Aaja Nachle' after 'Laaga Chunari...' I'm very comfortable with him. 'Laaga Chunari...' is a very vibrant film, and a terrific film to shoot because it took us to Varanasi, Switzerland and Mumbai."

After finishing shooting for her current assignments, Konkona is now packing her bags for France for a holiday.

"I'm off with my friends for a week. I love holidays and look for any excuse to go abroad. Whatever I've in life I make the best of it. So far it's all very nice."

Konkona is also looking at new assignments. "I'll come back from my holiday and then take a call on my new assignments."

One of her new projects would be a film with her mother, the acclaimed Aparna Sen. "Yes, after she's done with 'The Japanese Wife', we plan to work together again next year. Did I miss working with her in 'The Japanese Wife'? Not at all. She must work with other actresses, just as I'm working with other directors."

Would her mom and Konkona collaborate on a Hindi film? "Not necessarily. Why in Hindi? I don't think the language of the film should be important. I started in Bengali films and came to Hindi cinema by chance.

"Now again I've just completed a Bengali film. As long as it's an interesting film I don't care whether it's in English, Hindi or Bengali."

Indo-Asian News Service