Kalki Koechlin, the firebrand actress, who was in the city for the play, Trivial Disasters, has never balked at speaking her mind or living life on her own terms. “The people in the city are not star-struck,” says the star, looking fetching in a green dress. “They don’t bother me much and there is not much intrusion into my privacy. So I get to be myself, a regular person, who can eat corn at Besant Nagar beach and indulge the small cravings I enjoy. Also, I’m a hippie who loves to go by bus, which I can do here.”
Kalki, who is part Tamilian, says she has always had a special connection with the city. “It’s always nice performing in Chennai. It’s like a second home. I come here quite often not, only because my brother Vrata lives here, but I love the city, the evening walks along the sands and the lovely south Indian food. I never miss the idli and podi at Murugan Idli Kadai.” She makes it a point to visit her home town, Ooty, every Christmas. “We celebrate Christmas there with our mom. And people there still think I’m a child and call me ‘Kalki Bommai’. There is so much love, they don’t treat me like a star, but a daughter,” she says.
There is no doubt she is a star. She forms part of the cast of Atul Kumar’s play, Trivial Disasters, along with Richa Chadda, Purab Kohli and Cyrus Sahukar. The play, which was performed on July 27, consists of a series of comic sketches that represent the banal events and situations people find themselves in in their daily lives. “It was a full house. Kalki says, “It was a crazy experience. The crowd here is wonderful.”
According to her, doing theatre takes her performance several notches up when she goes back and works in feature films. “While doing theatre, you interact with the audiences, respond accordingly, you improve your spontaneity and sharpen your tools as an actor. It’s all about action and reaction, give and take. And when you go back to feature films, you start interacting more with the camera and start giving importance to intricate details of the performance,” she says.
Kalki, who is quite at ease in Tamil, has been receiving several offers for Tamil films, but the roles have not been substantial enough to excite her interest. She realises the constraints. “I grew up here in Tamil Nadu and I would love to do a Tamil film. But considering my bohemian looks, it can happen only when an appropriate characterisation happens.”
