Konkona Sen Sharma, a renowned actress in Hindi and Bengali cinema, recently received critical acclaim for her directorial segment “The Mirror” in the anthology film “Lust Stories 2.” Despite the positive response, Konkona considers herself primarily an actress and not a career director.She expressed that she doesn’t feel the need to immediately direct another project and is willing to wait until she finds a subject that excites her.
Konkona made her directorial debut with “A Death in the Gunj” seven years ago.While she acknowledges the hard work that goes into directing, she doesn’t foresee herself directing frequently.Instead, she hopes to continue receiving good acting roles.Throughout her career, Konkona has acted in diverse films like “Mr and Mrs Iyer,” “Omkara,” “Life in a… Metro,” “Luck By Chance,” “Wake Up Sid,” “Goynar Baksho,” and “Kadambari.”
“The Mirror” received praise for its exploration of issues such as class divide and voyeurism through the story of a house owner who accidentally walks in on her maid having sex in her bedroom.Konkona is pleased that people connected with the story and appreciated its simplicity in addressing the theme of lust without complicating it with other elements.
The main characters in “The Mirror” are portrayed by Tillotama Shome as Ishita, the homeowner, Amruta Subhash as Seema, the maid, and Shrikant Yadav as Ishita’s husband.
Konkona intentionally filmed most of the sex scenes from an external perspective to emphasize the transgressive acts committed by both women.She describes their actions as “two thieves stealing pleasure from each other.”
Regarding the portrayal of intersectionality between two women from different social classes, Konkona believes it reflects real-life dynamics and aims to depict it accurately.She emphasizes that the characters do not hold equal positions in society, with one having significant privilege over the other.
When writing the script, Konkona had Tillotama Shome in mind for the role of Ishita, and Shome recommended Amruta Subhash, who turned out to be an excellent choice.For another character, Shrikant Yadav was selected based on his kind and dignified appearance.
In “The Mirror,” Konkona intentionally chose not to showcase perfect bodies, aiming to challenge the limited representation of desire in films.While Konkona may take time to embark on her next directorial project, audiences can look forward to seeing her in “Metro… In Dino,” the sequel to “Life in a… Metro.”
.
