Mid-Day

Konkona Sen Sharma’s upcoming film by Vishal Bhardwaj has a strong Bengal connect. The film, which is based on Koko’s dad Mukul Sharma’s book, dwells on the subject of witchcraft, a practice rampant in West Bengal.

Sources say that Mukul, being a writer, had picked up nuances of the practice of witchcraft after closely observing alleged witches. Konkona too grew up in Kolkata and is said to have an in-depth knowledge of the craft that helped her play her role in this film.

A source says, “Director Kannan Iyer was confident that Konkana would absorb the concept of the role very well.”

Iyer states, “The whole concept of the witches is a rural folklore and since everything around us is so urbanised, they seem to be a distant phenomena. Konkona was well versed with the whole idea of witchcraft.”

Koko plays a suspected witch in the film. According to the director, the actress gave several pointers to the team in terms of a witch’s style of walking, costumes and body language.