In a generation craving for true-blue rom-coms, the Bollywood way, an Anurag Basu directorial comes as a ray of hope. With a penchant for hyperlinked films, his upcoming film Metro...In Dino is a follow-up to his 2007 hit Life in a...Metro.
Konkona Sen Sharma is the only connecting thread between Life in a...Metro and Metro...In Dino. It is a bittersweet feeling for her as she misses Irrfan Khan with whom she starred opposite in the first part.
Life in a...Metro was the tale of nine people living in the fast-paced Mumbai, combating issues ranging from extramarital affairs and commitment phobia as they fall in love, fall out of love, and even then decide to lead a life of compromise.
After 18 years, Anurag Basu is back with Metro...In Dino, which puts the spotlight on four couples navigating through life's many hardships and discovering love in the same city of Mumbai, which has somehow become more brutal.
In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, Konkona Sen Sharma speaks fondly about her Life in a...Metro co-star Irrfan Khan and finding love at any age.
Is Konkona A Hopeless Romantic
The actress is quick to react when questioned whether she is a hopeless romantic.
Konkona Sen Sharma says, "No, I don't think so. Even if there is a small part of me that is a hopeless romantic, there is a lot of me that is very practical and mature. I would say a larger part of me is not."
So Long, Irrfan...
Konkona Sen Sharma essays the role of Kajal in Metro...In Dino, who is married to Monty (Pankaj Tripathi). In the first Metro, her character was named Shruti who, by the end of the film, falls in love with Monty. In the 2007 original, Irrfan Khan played the role of Monty.
The actor said she was in touch with Irrfan Khan, who died in 2020 following a battle with a rare form of cancer.
"Irrfan and I were in touch, but not so regularly. We were colleagues who were very warm and affectionate, but it's not like we were close friends. We were not in each other's inner circle of friends. But yes, we miss him," Konkona Sen Sharma tells NDTV.
Is Metro...In Dino Bringing Something New To The Romance Genre
"Precisely that," says Konkona Sen Sharma.
Love in one's midlife is so diverse from the love in your sprightly 20s.
She says, "I think Anurag is trying to explore what happens to love in your midlife. We are so youth-obsessed that we think when a couple comes together, that's the end, nothing happens after that. We also think that it has to happen when we are young, otherwise it won't happen. That is where the film speaks volumes."
Konkona's Metro Ride, From Shruti To Kajal
Being the only returning cast member in the follow-up, Konkona Sen Sharma has a nuanced take on how her idea of love has evolved since the last Metro movie released. Eighteen years is a long time for an individual to experience the many facets of love.
The actress says, "It's very hard to define how the idea evolves as we age, love is so vast. It is such a complex emotion, which is why I think that Anurag has chosen to explore it through four different couples (in Metro...In Dino). One has to understand, love is not something which only happens to us in our 20s."
This is precisely what the plotlines of Life in a...Metro and Metro...In Dino reflect. Love can find us at any age.
Konkona Sen Sharma adds, "There are different stages of love at different stages of life. Funny thing, I actually told someone, it's like Irrfan (Monty) and my (Shruti) characters from Life in a...Metro grew up in Metro...In Dino, and now they have become Monty (Pankaj Tripathi) and Kajal (Konkona Sen Sharma).
Mushy Romance Vs Violence As A Form Of Romance
At a time when films such as Animal and Kabir Singh, which try to serve violence and toxicity under the garb of love, are finding audiences, Metro...In Dino wants us to believe in the magic of old-school romance.
According to Konkona Sen Sharma, it is important for all kinds of films to co-exist.
She says, "All kinds of films should exist. Sometimes big and loud films kind of overtake everything. Sometimes these are smaller films, or, I don't know about big or small, but at least these kinds of stories (Metro...In Dino) should not get lost."
Is The Audience Too Quick To Judge Sequels
It's once again raining sequels in Bollywood. Recent releases such as Sitaare Zameen Par, which was a spiritual sequel to the 2007 release Taare Zameen Par, and Housefull 5 did good business at the box office.
With the release of Metro...In Dino just around the corner, Konkona Sen Sharma says, "Sequels are quite tricky". "Especially, when the first part has been loved so much. People keep asking me about a sequel to Mr and Mrs Iyer and Wake Up Sid. But I always think it's a little scary because the audience loved the first part so much that the second just might not work out. But Metro...In Dino is not a sequel in the traditional sense, it's just the same format."
"Neena Ji Reminds Me Of My Mother"
That Neena Gupta is the cool cat of the Metro...In Dino gang has been evident from the promotions. She plays the role of Shibani Ghosh in the film, who has spent years adjusting to her husband Parimal Sarkar's (Anupam Kher) whims and fancies. Their story is all about reunion and love in one's twilight years.
Konkona Sen Sharma quips, "She reminds me of my mother (Aparna Sen, filmmaker and actor). In many ways, it is just her spirit and the way she has lived life on her terms. I see similarities. And so I relate to her. I have deep admiration for her as well."
As for us to feel the love, she asks the audience to experience the emotion through the unfiltered lives of modern-age couples taking over the big screens on July 4 (Friday) in Metro...In Dino.
Also Read | A Gen Z Review Of Life... In A Metro: What It Got Right About Love And (Very) Wrong About Women