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| Konkona Sensharma |
If you are given an opportunity to become President for a day what changes would she like to bring?
No idea. I’ve no wish to become the President at all.
We heard producer Rohan Sippy tricked you into doing The President Is Coming?
I had met Rohan for a meeting; and he told me that he wanted me to be part of a film. I thought Rohan would give me a script or a narration but he straightaway took me for a reading session, gave me the script and told me to read my part. It was a film based on a play and all the other actors present knew their part, and mine too, by heart, as they were originally from the play. So it was a bit intimidating. But I have not laughed so much in any movie. There was no question of not doing the film.
The films sounds experimental.
It’s a ‘mockumentary’. It’s supposed to be the behind-the-scenes footage of President Bush’s visit to India and his desire to shake hands with a young Indian — you’re not supposed to take the film very seriously. It reflects the nature of Indian youth and makes fun of people at various levels. It was a very enjoyable film for me. The tagline of the movie is ‘Six Hands, Two Birds and One Bush’ — six hands because there are six contestants, two birds because Shernaz Patel and Shivani are supervising the contest and there’s one President Bush!
Do you know anyone who wants to shake hands with the US President?
Luckily, I don’t know any such crazy people.
What do you play in the film?
An award-winning Bengali novelist, Maya Roy. She takes herself very seriously and has delusions of grandeur. She really wants to win the contest. And she has an unexpected side to her.
There are very few known faces in the film. Were you cast to add to the star value to the film?
Possibly, they wanted a face that is slightly more known… though it (fame) has got nothing to do with talent. But I’m sure they wouldn’t have taken me if I hadn’t also suited the part of a Bengali intellectual. Some people think I’m like that.
Have you seen the play?
I watched the play only after we finished shooting the film because most of the cast of the film and the play is the same. While we were shooting the film, they were all busy so they didn’t have the time to stage the play.
Have a lot of Bushisms been used in the film?
There is a round of Bushisms in the movie. I don’t really remember but we have used Bushisms like ‘Singapore is the capital of Asia’. We made fun of Bush’s speeches.
Do you dislike Bush?
Yes, I dislike George Bush. I don’t agree with his politics and I don’t think he is very well-educated in world affairs, and current affairs. In any case, I’m not for his Republican Party, I lean more towards the Democratic Party. It’s not that I know much about American politics, nor about Indian politics for that matter; but from whatever I know, I’m much more for Obama and the Democratic Party. Are you going to ask me political questions?
Sure. What are you hoping from Obama, the new US President?
I think he’ll bring about positive changes for the US and world economics; and generally world politics too. I certainly hope so. I think now people can laugh more at the previous Republican government. The film is very well-timed because Bush has gone and we don’t have to really worry about Bush as a threat to the world at large. I think the kind of fun that we’ve made in the film will be taken in good spirit.
How would you sum up the experience of working in the film?
I really would want to work with this group of people again (including director Kunal Roy Kapoor) whether it’s on stage or on film. They are a fantastic group of people. And I’m very happy that Sippy films are producing such diverse cinema such as Chandni Chowk To China and The President Is Coming!
