Konkona says she’s more empathetic now towards docs, frontline workers

Mumbai, Aug 30: National Award-winning actress and filmmaker Konkona Sen Sharma says she has a newfound respect for doctors and other medical staff of any government hospital, especially after the pandemic.

Konkona is playing a pivotal role in the upcoming web series titled ‘Mumbai Diaries: 26/11’.

Asked what intrigued her about the show initially, Konkona told IANS, “Since I knew Nikkhil for quite some time now and I am well aware of his sensibility, I knew that he would create a good show on the topic of the terrorist attacks of 26/11. Yes, it is true that 26/11 has been covered in films and shows before and at times it could be a little tricky to handle the subject from a different perspective. But when it comes to our show, we are using the incident as a backdrop, it is not a documentary.

“What could happen in the hospital when a deadly terror attack takes place. In the show, we are giving insight into a government hospital, under such a crisis situation, what happens to the doctors, nurses, junior doctors, other medical staff and frontline workers. I think it is an interesting perspective to explore, in a story, on the medical community.” In the show, Konkona plays the character of Chitra Das. Sharing more details of her character she said, “Chitra is a social service director of the hospital, she is not a doctor, though she comes from a medical background. But under the circumstances, she, like everyone else, is trying to do her best, beyond her ability to handle a crisis like that, where so many injured bodies are coming that demand immediate attention to save lives.

“But when it comes to her personality, she is full of self-doubt because of her personal life, the struggle that she has. That is the journey of the character.” Directed by Nikkhil Advani, the web series is set in the emergency room of a government hospital and how the medical community constantly struggle to save lives when the deadly terrorist attacks of 26/11 took place in the city of Mumbai in 2008.

The show also features – Mohit Raina, Tina Desai, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Satyajeet Dubey, Natasha Bharadwaj, Mrunmayee Deshpande and Prakash Belawadi, among others.

On the whole experience of shooting the show and knowing the condition of doctors in great detail, Konkona said, “One of the reasons why I am feeling proud to be part of the show is, this is our way of paying tribute to the frontline workers, post pandemic there is newfound respect we have towards doctors and frontline workers really. Now, if and when I visit a government hospital, I will have more insight of how they function, more respect and empathy towards the doctors and frontline workers.” ‘Mumbai Diaries: 26/11’ will release on Amazon Prime Video on September 9.

(Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in)