‘I’m praying that SRK and Aamir become a reality too’

Kalki Koechlin’s a busy girl these days. In between juggling theatre, reading scripts, writing scripts and shooting, the child-woman Chanda of the cult hit Dev D is busy polishing her Hindi and dancing skills as she prepares for her big leap into mainstream Bollywood with Zoya Akhtar’s Running With the Bulls. Self-admittedly, hers wasn’t the most conventional debut Bollywood’s witnessed in recent times, but then, “Nothing I do ever does fit the definition of conventional anyway,” she points out. Whether it’s her live-in relationship with boyfriend director Anurag Kashyap or her professional choices — the actress took time off post Dev D to act in a play Skeletons in the Cupboard — her bold choices often see her being labelled a rebel.
“I live my life the way I want to, not to earn tags like rebel or different. I am not a rebel, this is the only way I know to be. Tags like these make me squirm,” she retorts. And ‘sexy’? “I don’t think I’m sexy in the Bollywood sense of the word. I don’t even think that I fit the mould of the conventional Bollywood beauty. But, sexy has been redefined in Bollywood, so I don’t know!” she says flashing an impish smile.
And though her phirang looks (she’s of French descent) coupled with her anglicised Hindi may limit her choices here, Kalki’s not letting that keep her from trying her hand at conventional mainstream Bollywood. Candid about the offers coming her way, she admits that the offers are not exactly pouring in. “The choices are few, but I’m happy as long as I do get to choose. Filmmakers are experimenting and it’s a good phase for actors here, as stories are getting more real,” she says.
Is that also why she doesn’t mind the shift from realistic cinema to Bollywood? “To a great extent, yes. Realism is already seeping into mainstream Bollywood and the lines are blurring. Though, I must admit that I like Bollywood with all its kitsch and don’t mind being a part of it at all.” And to prove it, she reveals that she has even done her first item number in the forthcoming film Happy Journey.
“It wasn’t meant to make any point though,” she laughs, adding, “But I am excited about it for sure. It’s a full on
item number and I am doing the latkas and jhatkas, too.” What has Kalki equally excited is the mix of films in hand — Anurag’s thriller That Girl in Yellow Boots, Happy Journey and Zoya’s film with Hrithik Roshan. “Hrithik, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan have always been my favourites. Am working with Hrithik now and I’m praying that SRK and Aamir would be a reality, too, some day!”