I'm a concerned mother: Sharmila Tagore

It���������s as unfair to compare Ray with any director as it is to compare Joy Goswami with the Bard, says Sharmila Tagore.
This is the first time that she is starring with daughter Soha in Sangeeta Datta���������s ���������Life Goes On��������� , but that���������s what it is ��������� just another first ��������� for Sharmila Tagore. Unperturbed by the number of films coming her way and embracing meaningful cinema wholeheartedly, she talks about her conviction as an actor and how deviant she can make the reel from the real.
Offers to rope in the mother-daughter duo must have come by the dozens, one wonders, but the actor cuts the conversation short. ���������Not really. This is the first offer that came our way and I went through the script and found it to be quite nice,��������� she says. But for a mother, who is known to do a perfect balancing act between home and work, the film must have meant sharing quality time with her daughter. Sharmila doesn���������t go by the rulebook. ���������I can���������t do a film because I share a certain comfort zone with my daughter. I gave my nod because it was a good script. The way the shoot was conducted, however, was fun.��������� Being her mother, ask her to rate Soha as an actor, and she puts it succinctly, ���������It���������s your job. My job, on the other hand, is to appreciate and encourage her.��������� And she hasn���������t been benevolent in giving out acting tips either. ���������Soha is a director���������s actor. She has worked on her bit independently.���������
The film, which has done the round of festivals, fetching awards, and has already released in London and the US, brings a smile on the actor���������s lips at its very mention, but she is not too keen on talking about the response just yet. ���������Overall, Sangeeta would be able to say how it has been. The response was very good at the festivals it has been.��������� Talking about playing Manju Banerjee, the woman of the family, who not just holds the reins but happens to be the livewire and whose sudden demise makes hubby Dr Sanjay Banerjee come to terms with the lives of the children, while grappling with the tragedy, Sharmila explains, she too has been the matriarch. ���������Yes, my children too share their lives with me. They too tell me their secrets. I���������m a concerned mother.��������� So, are there real-life resemblances? ���������I���������m an actor. I can make it as real as it gets,��������� she shoots back.
Once the conversation veers to Tollywood, one wonders if for the actor, who started off as a child bride in Ray���������s ���������Apur Sansar��������� and followed it up with the film-maker���������s ���������Devi��������� , Bengal has been able to rise above Ray and she says, ���������Ray���������s films cannot be compared with anyone else���������s . He is head and shoulders above the rest. But that doesn���������t mean Aparna Sen, Goutam Ghose, Rituparno Ghosh and both the Anjans aren���������t doing good work. It���������s as unfair to compare Ray with anyone as it is to compare Joy Goswami with Tagore. Ray was what no one can be.��������� The actor, who recently came down to Kolkata and shared the stage with the quintessential Apu, Soumitra Chatterjee, says it was an unforgettable experience. ���������Soumitra���������s a good friend. He is extremely talented. Recitation is his fort������ . I enjoyed every minute of the stage experience.��������� The actor, who starred in Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury���������s ���������Antaheen��������� , says she has recently watched Rituparno���������s ���������Abohomaan��������� . ���������I might not be clued into each and every film that is now been made in Bengal, but I do get to know about the good films. If another good script comes my way, you never know, I might take it up.���������
A veteran actor, a one-time glam doll and a powerhouse performer, does she lament not many good scripts been penned around actors in their greying years? Here too, Sharmila rises beyond the obvious. ���������Films are an expensive territory. It���������s absolutely fine if scripts are penned keeping stars in mind. I wonder what would the distribution be like for a film that has a veteran actor but no star. If people pay money to watch films, they also want their money���������s worth. But then, you may say ���������Paa��������� was written for Amitabh Bachchan. Barring Amitabh and to some extent, Naseeruddin Shah, not many films are scripted around veteran actors. It is neither a sad state nor something that needs much effort to come to terms with. This is what it is.��������� So, films and home apart what is it that���������s taking up quality time? With a cricketer back home, for once, the actor gives an expected answer. ���������World Cup,��������� she dimples. Reason enough to bring the trophy home, eh?