Kalki Koechlin doesn’t like being called an activist, but you hear her when she speaks.
Lucid. That’s the first word that comes to mind while in conversation with Kalki Koechlin [for the curiousminded, her last name is pronounced as ‘cake-la(n)’ and not ‘coach-lin’]. Easy to laugh and with a good head on her shoulders, this 32-year-old actor is someone we could all relate to. She would make a good role model, I can’t help thinking. And I wouldn’t be too wrong to say that she’s sincere to a fault, as also someone who doesn’t mince her words or beat around the bush to call a spade just that.
Kalki caught our attention in 2009 with the breakout film Dev.D, a modern retelling of the classic Devdas, where she portrayed Chanda and there has been no stopping her since. We saw this star shine in more than 10 films over the years. There have been blockbusters like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and performances in That Girl in Yellow Boots, Shaitan, Shanghai and, more recently, Waiting that won her critical acclaim. In May, she picked up the special jury award at the 63rd National Film Awards for Shonali Bose’s Margarita with a Straw, for her sensitive portrait of Laila, a collegegoing girl with cerebral palsy (CP).
Kalki’s influence goes beyond the reaches of cinema. As someone who doesn’t view their work in isolation from their beliefs or chooses to live in a self-imposed bubble, she isn’t afraid to speak up in her words, she likes to lead by example. In addition to her depiction of powerful roles, her monologues and spoken words, social satires, which she shares with her millions of followers on social media, speak volumes of her empathy and involvement with her surroundings.
In this interview, Kalki speaks freely about her art, the people who inspire her and what makes her tick.
Denne historien er fra July 2016-utgaven av Reader's Digest India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July 2016-utgaven av Reader's Digest India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi
Pushpesh Pant, one of India’s pre-eminent food writers, is back with a comprehensive food history of the capital.
Who Wants Coffee?
It’s bitter—but beloved around the world
Prevent The Pain Of Shingles
You don't have to suffer, as long as you take two important steps
The Best And Worst Diets For Your Heart
Dozens of diets are touted as ‘best’, but it’s easy to lose track of the fact that healthy eating needs to be about overall wellness, not just weight loss.
ME & MY SHELF
Journalist Sopan Joshi has worked in a science and environment framework for nearly three decades. His book Mangifera indica: A Biography of the Mango (Aleph Book Company) synthesizes the sensory appeal of India's favourite fruit with its elaborate cultural roots and natural history. He writes in English and Hindi.
SWITCHED
In 1962, nurses at a small Canadian hospital sent home two women with the wrong babies. Then, 50 years later, their children discovered the shocking mistake.
ECHOES OF THE PAST
A VISIT TO THE ANCIENT BARABAR CAVES IN BIHAR REVEALS A SURPRISING CONNECTION TO A LITERARY CLASSIC
Fathers of the Bride
A young woman finds a unique way to honour the many men who helped her survive her childhood
Fiction's Foresight
British-Bangladeshi author Manzu Islam's works reveal startling parallels to recent political upheavals in Bangladesh, begging the question: Besides helping us make sense of our world, can stories also offer a glimpse into the future?
It Happens ONLY IN INDIA
The Divine Defence Picture this: A tractor in Rajasthan‘s Banswara district,a group of loan agents closing in to seize it and the defaulting farmer and his family standing by.
