Mother and daughter. Pictures by Rashbehari Das

Konkona is back home in Calcutta with her four-month-old son Haroun for the first time, and Aparna just can’t stop gushing about her daughter’s hands-on mommy skills. In the run-up to the July 29 release of Iti Mrinalini starring both mom and daughter, t2 caught the stunning duo for a quick chat and a photo shoot at their Silver Spring residence on Tuesday morning.

Konkona

What do you plan to do in the next few days in Calcutta?

I don’t think I will have time. I have been very busy. Far more busy this time. My last visit to Calcutta was in January when I was pregnant and it was a very lazy and relaxing trip. But this time, it’s completely different. There’s a frenetic pace of publicity and promotions for Iti Mrinalini. Whatever little time I have, I’ll try to be with Haroun because he is adjusting to a new place and I am not there with him all the time.

Besides, I am dying to see Iti Mrinalini. I haven’t watched the film yet. I think for the first or second time in my life I have done lip-sync songs! It’s also a period film for me and it’s got a very interesting look. I am playing an actress and my mother was an actress in the Seventies, so there are many interesting things in the film.

Is Haroun your top priority now?

No, I don’t think I will make him a priority at all! No, I am joking! Just joking. Of course, he is priority.

Are you a hands-on mom?

I try to be as much as possible. (Aparna adds: ‘Very. Take it from me, a very hands-on and wonderful mother.’)

Do you take tips from your mother on being a mom?

Often. I have been talking to my mother, my sister (Kamalini) and I had read a lot of books while I was pregnant.

Aparna

How are you bonding with your grandson?

I bonded with Haroun in Bombay itself. I was there for some time after he was born. I was there in the delivery room too. In fact, I gave him his first bath! Konkona had even shot me bathing Haroun on a video camera. I was very scared, you know, thinking that he would forget me by the time he comes to Calcutta. But somehow he remembers me and I think when I hold him he feels very secure and confident because I know how to hold children and I am very good with babies. (Smiles.) I think Haroun gets a sense of that.

How is Konkona doing as a mom?

Konkona is doing an excellent job on her own... oke manush kora, giving him a bath and a massage. Haroun is very well taken care of by his mother. Konkona is a very disciplined mother and babies love discipline.

Does Haroun look like Konkona?

He looks roly-poly like she (Konkona) used to (laughs)! Haroun is too small for us to tell if he is like Konkona. But he is a good baby. Konkona used to cry more.

What do you call him?

I call him Piko. Pikolo actually (laughs).