Koneenica Banerjee: I love my wrinkles and enjoy the roles I get
She plays Mallika Banerjee in Saurav Chakrabarti’s political thriller, Rajneeti, which also features Kaushik Ganguly, Ditipriya Roy, Arjun Chakrabarty, and others.
May 27, 2023
Koneenica
Koneenica Banerjee forayed into the OTT space with Saurav Chakrabarti’s political thriller, Rajneeti, on Hoichoi. She plays Mallika Banerjee – the wife of a politician Rathin Banerjee. The show which also features Kaushik Ganguly, Ditipriya Roy, Arjun Chakrabarty, and others was dropped on Hoichoi on May 26. In a chat with Ottplay, Koneenica talked about her offer and her journey.
Koneenica was working in full swing in a mega serial Aye Tobe Sohochori when her life took a turn. She went through critical spine surgery in Chennai. She momentarily lost her voice after the surgery when she got the offer to play the character of Mallika. “Saurav and I know each other for a long time. We worked in a telefilm, Kader Kuler Bou. We became friends. Earlier, Saurav and Ishita offered me roles in their series but I was neck-deep busy with my mega serials. This time I told them no matter what I will be working with you. I lost my voice briefly after my surgery and I got this offer even before I got back my voice. I was sure about this character. I loved it the moment I read it,” she said.
During the script reading season, Saurav asked Koneenica to avoid reading the end. “However, I read the whole story. Portraying Mallika was fun. There are shades in the character. I did not try to label Mallika. Rather, I felt Mallika is right in her head. She is the heroine of her life. I just behaved the way Mallika would behave justifiably. Now the character is getting a lot of appreciation. I am happy,” said the actress.
What took her so long to get a real meaty role? “I don’t know. I take it positively. I feel if I am underutilised then I have scopes to be utilised. I am not overexposed. That’s a good thing. So many actors and actresses around are stagnant by now. I feel proud that I could afford to take a gap and then came back in business,” she said. Koneenica has no qualms about her age. She said, “I love my wrinkles. I am enjoying the journey of aging. I am sure I will get meaty roles that are suitable for my age. The economy we live in does not allow us to choose our characters. Our producers choose actors. I don’t get bothered about what I missed. I used to be bothered when I was young. Not anymore! I feel we all should have walked towards progression. Many of us did not. I am happy that Saurav and Ishita did.”
Right now, Koneenica is busy with a medical emergency and juggling between work and home. She will be seen in Ayan Chakraborty’s Nikhonj with Tota Roy Chowdhury and Swastika Mukherjee.
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