‘Terror can come from any religion’: Konkona Sen Sharma

The actor stars in ‘Mumbai Diaries 26/11’, which she says is ‘a tribute to frontline workers’

Bollywood actor Konkona Sen Sharma, after being seen in the Netflix anthology series Ajeeb Dastaans, stars in Mumbai Diaries 26/11, in which she essays the role of a social services director at a government hospital in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.  

Speaking about the show with Indian Express, Konkona shared that, at its heart, the series is a tribute to health workers. Talking about the first time she read the script, the actor shared, “When I first read it, I found it hard-hitting, engaging and wonderfully written script. It was like a thriller almost, because these are events unfolding in real-time.” 

On the story, Konkona added, “The show concentrates on the lives of hospital staff and what they go through, their personal journeys and challenges of working in a government hospital. I thought it was a very well written show, and here it is, my very first web series. The show is a tribute to frontline workers in the true sense.”The show follows the immediate aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Reflecting on the delicate subject matter and how discussions of it may lead to increased hostility towards the Muslim community in India, Konkona shared that terrorists have a belief system of their own. “There is an awareness that we have to work on. Terrorists have their own religion, and terror can come from any religion. The fanatics are a religion unto themselves and it does not reflect on what religion they say they are,” explained the Wake Up Sid actor.   

Elaborating on how the show is not about religious tensions and is instead about the experience of front line workers following such tragedies, Konkona added, “For Mumbai Diaries, that is not what we have taken. Those are not the issues we are dealing with in this show. There is a line in the trailer which says, ‘A doctor has to look at a body as a body and not as anything else.’ As [the director] Nikkhil [Advani] says that in any part of the word, in an ER or hospital, nobody is going to ask what your religion or what your caste is. They are going to ask your blood group and what are your allergies.”

Adding how society has become increasingly divided along religious lines, the actor added, “Today, we are too focused on religious divides, we really need to come together as a country, be more peaceful, be more tolerant.” 

Reiterating how the show focused on healthcare workers, Konkona shared, “26/11 is a backdrop on our show, it is a tribute to frontline workers. We’ve had many shows on 26/11, but not from the perspective of doctors. Thanks to Covid-19 we have seen what the doctors and medical staff have to go through — the attacks on doctors, the lack of PPE kits, the shortages in government hospitals, the kind of healthcare that is not accessible to everybody, it is only the elite who have access to good healthcare. So these are the challenges we have catered to and told stories of these characters in extraordinary circumstances that they aren’t even trained for.”