Konkana was nervous dancing with Madhuri
Noreen Aslam

MUMBAI—Konkona Sen Sharma and stage fright don’t go together. But when the actress heard that she had to dance with the nimble-footed Madhuri Dixit in “Aaja Nachle”, she nearly ran away.
“It was scary,” laughed Konkona.
Directed by Pradeep Sarkar of “Parineeta” fame, the film revolves around an ageing actress, played by Madhuri, and how she gets friendly with a young actress while working in a play and shares her secrets with her. “Sharing acting space with Madhuri didn’t make me that nervous. I knew I could manage to hold my own in that department. But one has to be totally crazy to even attempt to match dance steps with Madhuri. I thought I’d faint when I had to dance with her,” Konkona told reporters.
“Fortunately, our choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant gave me steps that didn’t make me look foolish in front of Madhuri. In fact, the film requires unequal dancing between Madhuri and the rest of us in the cast,” she added.
Konkona’s last release “Metro” earned her rave reviews and she is still basking in the glory.
“I just loved meeting Anurag Basu for the narration. He kept getting all the characters’ names confused. It was hilarious but I liked his honesty, passion...and maturity.”
She recalled an incident on the first day of “Metro” shoot, when her mother’s (Aparna Sen’s) hairdresser, who was supposed to join her, disappeared.
“She was with my mother for 33 years and she was supposed to join me for ‘Metro’ in Mumbai when I got a call from my mother saying she was gone. She was like a family member. Her going away meant an immense loss. I was distraught. Anurag immediately cancelled my first day’s shooting and made me fly to Kolkata.” Audiences loved her pairing up with Irrfan Khan in “Metro”.
“People are so pleased with my chemistry with Irrfan. But anybody can have good chemistry with Irrfan. He’s too good! We’re crazy about each other’s acting. Though we’ve done five films together, this is the first time we were actually on screen together. He also has a guest appearance in ‘Aaja Nachle’.”
At the moment Konkona is like a child in a candy store, picking up the most yummy roles in Bollywood. “It’s not like I am getting only plum roles. A lot of what comes my way doesn’t inspire me. But, yes, ‘Aaja Nachle’ is very special. “Madhuri Dixit is amazing! We had such a ball. We hung around together even when we weren’t shooting. Madhuri is such a big star. But she’s so chilled. So fun loving and totally unaffected”.