They are known to bring artistic excellence together on the big screen but filmmaker Aparna Sen did not cast daughter Konkana in her upcoming film The Japanese Wife because she did not consider her perfect for the role.
The role finally went to Raima Sen, who portrays a widow in the movie, which releases on April 9. The film has been shot in English, Bengali, Japanese and stars Rahul Bose and actress Chigusa Takaku in the title role.
“Konkana is a wonderful actor and I would love to work with her in every movie. But Konkana has very strong presence and the character of the widow required sadness for which I feel Raima was perfect,” said Aparna whose last two films 15, Park Avenue and Mr and Mrs Iyer saw Konkana playing the main character.
“However, you will see us bonding together in Bengali film Iti Mrinalini about an actress where she will play the younger part and I will be the actress in her older days,” she added.
The Japanese Wife , an unusual love story explores the relationship between a young village school teacher (Rahul Bose) who ties the knot with his Japanese pen friend (Chigusa Takaku) through letters and remains true to her throughout his life.
“Creatively the film was a challenge because I wanted to say great things with minimalism. Although the two main characters are writing letters I think it is a very modern film. There are long relationships and people connect through sms or facebook but since the guy is in Sunderbans he is writing letters,” Aparna said.
