Whether it was Dev.D, Shaitan, Shanghai or Margarita with a Straw, Kalki Koechlin has more often than not chosen unconventional films to make her space in Bollywood.
“There is just the fear that I will get complacent and comfortable. Because once something succeeds, there is a tendency of doing the same thing. So, I try to consciously try to break that,” said Koechlin.
“I constantly try to do something which scares me, with a role that I think I won’t be able to pull off, or needs more practice or rehearsal or research. It is important for me to constantly challenge myself,” she added.
The actress has also won over the commercial side of showbiz with hit films such as Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Happy Ending. She keeps on exploring other creative mediums like theatre and short films.
She credits her father, Joel Koechlin, for instilling values which keep her connected to her roots and for knowing the importance of not taking success for granted.
“I think the main thing that my dad has inspired in me is adaptability. He is somebody who adapts to any situation. I think it is a good reminder for me, and then he treats everybody the same, and that too is a good reminder for a celebrity because that kind of gets lost in the luxurious life,” said Koechlin, who made her small screen debut with FOX Life show Kalki’s Great Escape, with her father.
In the show, Koechlin goes on a motorbike adventure to North-East India with Joel. They are seen sharing many experiences during the ride through unexplored terrains of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
The National Award-winning actress also feels that the road trip not only gave her an opportunity to spend more time with her father, but also gave her a reality check.
She said: “I am still in touch with theatre and travelling on rough roads where you just see that everyone is a human being and there is no class or anything. I mean there are [classes] obviously in society but that is not how you should treat people.”
There is also a lot of effort being made to represent the North-East in the mainstream these days. The actress says she is happy she could know more about that part of the country through the show.
“When we do TV shows, it is practical to do it outside of the country since taking permissions and a lot of other things become easier. So, a lot of people shoot TV shows, especially adventure shows, outside India. But I wanted to do it in our country because it is so much better.
“We don’t’even appreciate it that much. For me, it was self discovery as I didn’t know about North-East much,” she said.
Will she be more open to TV projects after her small screen debut? Koechlin says that depends on the offer.
“It has to be something special. This is special because I am travelling with my dad — it is my kind of adventure, it is not rehearsed, not any artificial kind of things. There are certain things that definitely tempts me but I don’t’see myself doing lots of TV shows,” said the actress.
On the big screen, Koechlin will be seen in a documentary Azmaish — Trials of Life and in Konkona Sen Sharma’s A Death In The Gunj, which is set in the 1970s.
