Riot after riot for Konkona

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br />The last time we saw Konkona Sharma, she stole our hearts — and Rahul Bose’s too — as Mrs Iyer (in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Mr and Mrs Iyer</span>), a young mother trapped in the midst of a swirling riot. <br /></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="27.0%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/564680.cms" alt="/photo/564680.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Soon we shall see her again as Kajuri Roy, a young NRI who discovers her native land.Once again, against a backdrop of riots. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">"Yes!" laughs Konkona, "I''m only going to do riot films." </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Currently shooting in Delhi for </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Amu</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> — documentary film-maker Shonali Bose''s first feature film — the National Award winner sees herself as an actress as opposed to a film-star. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">"Kajuri is someone who has lived in the US all her life; so, I needed an American accent for her," says Konkana. "I was in LA for a couple of weeks for accent training."</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Apart from Konkona, Amu has another highpoint. It marks the birth of a new, unusual screen mom — activist Brinda Karat, who plays Konkona''s mother in the movie. </span></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -6"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="34.7%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" color:="" ffffff="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">RELATED STORIES</span></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" fbfbfb=""> <div class="Normal"><a href="/articleshow/32568506.cms">Meet the very different Mr & Mrs Iyer</a><span style="" font-size:=""></span><br /><span style="" font-size:=""> </span><a href="/articleshow/32410817.cms">Not Mr & Mrs Iyer</a><span style="" font-size:=""></span><br /><span style="" font-size:=""> </span><a href="/articleshow/74351774.cms">Socially relevant movies in fest</a></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">"I have faced the camera earlier, but to act before one was terrifying to begin with,� says Brinda. In the movie, Kajuri, in search of her identity, returns to trace her roots. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""><formid=367815></formid=367815></span><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal">"I interacted with Indian-Americans to find the issues that really trouble them," says Shonali. <br /><br />Accompanied by a friend (Kabir), Kajuri traces her mother''s old haunts such as DU. <br /><br />The tale takes a turn as the viewer realises that Kajuri is adopted and there are discrepancies in the story told to her about her parents. <br /><br />Much of the script is derived from Shonali''s own experience. "I had just finished school and street-theatre was emerging. We performed at riot-struck areas, went to relief camps. <br /><br />I can''t forget the stories told to us. Close on the heels of all this, I lost my mother, to whom I was very close. "Shonali made Kajuri''s mother an activist because "NRI women have several facets to them."<br /><br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">nikita.doval@indiatimes.com </span><br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>