'I want a box office hit'

Arthur J Pais in New York

Asked what they want, box office or awards, many movie stars may be tempted to say, "both," but recently Konkona Sen Sharma bluntly told Karan Johar, "Box office."

The film-maker who has cast her as a writer who gives meaning to a slightly younger male (Ranbir Kapoor) in the admirable Wake Up Sid was interviewing her recently on his show. Awards, Konkona told him, she has in plenty.

It is not that she hasn't been featured in box-office hits such as Life in a Metro and Page 3 but those are small budget films (compared to an Akshay Kumar or a Shah Rukh Khan movie).

Now, it looks like she has another arthouse hit. Wake Up Sid, according to distributors UTV, has grossed a healthy $4.2 million worldwide in three days. In North America, its $350,000 gross smartly outbeats Do Knot Disturb which made $124,000. and the laughing stock of the season What's Your Raashee? continued its doomed run earning $237,000 in 10 days in North America.

Hers is an engaging role in Wake Up Sid, she says, adding that she plays a Bengali woman with insights into life. She has arrived in Mumbai to be a writer. She wants to do something new. Like a holiday, Sid asks her. No, she firmly answers, 'Like Life.'