Promoting one film is tough… and now with two back-to-back films (Jia Aur Jia this Friday and Ribbon on November 3), I am suddenly feeling like Akshay Kumar!” Trust Kalki Koechlin (and yes, she wants the world to know, via t2, that it’s ‘K-e-k-l-a’ and not ‘K-o-e-ch-l-i-n) to always start a chat on a fun note. The 33-year-old actress, known for most roles hatke, was in Calcutta recently, doing publicity duties for Jia Aur Jia, a rare Bolly film on female friendship in which she teams up with Richa Chadha. t2 caught her looking fetching in a blue figure-hugging sequinned number, for a fun tete-a-tete.

A road trip with two girls as the theme. We knew you wouldn’t pass up on a film like Jia Aur Jia!

(Laughs) Of course not! It ticked all the boxes for me… travel, girl bonding, freedom…. Films on female friendship don’t exist in India (smiles). Honestly, in our industry, a female-oriented film — and I hate using that term — will only be about issues that women face and while that’s important to address of course, it’s very rare to see a film where girls are having fun. A film on women doesn’t always have to be about them fighting a battle. Of course we are also imparting life lessons here… live life in the moment and all of that… but it’s not gender-based and that I really liked about this film. 

But a film focused on women more often than not gets labelled as being feminist…

I really wouldn’t call it a feminist film, other than the fact that the men and women are equal here… yes, in that sense, it’s a feminist film. It does pass The Bechdel Test [a test that examines whether a work of fiction featuring two women has them conversing on topics other than men]. After Margarita (with a Straw), this is the second film I’ve done that passes that test. If today, someone was talking to the Dil Chahta Hai cast, they wouldn’t be asked if it was a male-oriented film. Because we are two women, people will invariably ask, ‘So, where’s the feminist issue?’ But it’s not… it’s about life! (Laughs) It’s two human beings who just happen to be females. 

You were signed on first for this film. What was your reaction when you heard Richa Chadha was playing the other Jia?

I’ve known her for quite sometime now… ever since (Gangs of) Wasseypur, because obviously I was hanging a lot around that set (the film was directed by Anurag Kashyap who was then married to Kalki). When I heard she was signed on, I was very happy. We happen to be neighbours (in Mumbai’s Yari Road)… we hang out once in a while. In any film, you need to have a connection with your co-star and if it doesn’t happen earlier, you have to find it on set. There is time, usually, to hang out while working on a film, but knowing Richa from before has definitely been a bonus. Especially on a film like this where we have shared bedrooms, changed in the same trailer vans (smiles)… we had to be very accommodating because it’s a small-budget film so it was important to be comfortable with each other.

 

And for once, you play the more fun character in a film!

Finally, right?! I kept looking at Richa’s Jia crying and being all intense and it looked so exhausting that I was glad I didn’t have to do it! (Laughs) She actually helped me with my lines because I play a Punjabi and I learnt to say ‘Makkhan-malai’ from her and I taught her some Tamil lines since her character is Tamilian. I had a lot of fun doing this role… I was only paralysed out of fear when I had to dance! (Laughs) When I dance, I always feel like a baby learning to walk… in fast forward! 

We’ve heard some crazy stories about the fun you guys had while shooting in Sweden, including a visit to a sex shop!

(Laughs) Ya! Richa had never been to one, so I wanted her to be educated in some of these things! (Winks) That was fun because there they are not shy about these things. So there was one woman who was like (imitates an accent and gestures), ‘So you take the lube and you put it here and then you pull this and then you tighten that…!’(Laughs) We watched some good movies too… like Don Jon which is about a porn addict, then Blue Jasmine that I loved, Gravity was okayish and we walked out of that appalling film called Diana.

Also, Richa is a vegetarian and when you are abroad, that literally translates to being in hell! (Laughs) So we had to embark on these elaborate treks in Sweden. Finally, we found this salad bar and it was heaven for her! (Laughs out loud) And then, everyday she just wanted to keep going there! (Makes a face)

Actually, I was glad for all that time with her because personally, it was a tough time for me if you calculate back to when it was… it was just after I had left Anurag.... I was in a quiet space. I was glad I was with someone like Richa where I could just veg out on her bed and watch some junk on TV and didn’t have to socialise with a big group of people. I had switched off my Indian phone then… so for one whole month, I didn’t know who was saying what about me, which is also very healthy (smiles).

So how do you keep it together when you have a co-star you don’t like?

You mean what’s it like to act with Siri? (Laughs)

I don’t think the personality of the person matters… whether they are good actors or not matters. On set, it’s okay to not talk to the co-star you don’t like because there are so many people on set that no one will ever notice (smiles). The trick is to find the connect with that person in a scene because you really can’t lie to the camera. 

Since this is a film with two actresses, are catfights a reality or something only that sell gossip?

Ooooh, catfights… how I love that word! (Laughs) I’ve never found a clash of personality with any of the actresses I have worked with. There are women I don’t get along with and I make that clear and we have big arguments and stuff, but they aren’t usually those I act with. 

Do you think Jia Aur Jia will be the beginning of more films that focus on women and their lives?

I don’t know, to be honest. If not a film, I think a lot of people would love to see a web-series where a gang of girlfriends catch up every Friday night and discuss their week. I do that with my girlfriends pretty frequently. And then, of course, if there is an emergency, we call up each other all the time… like, ‘I’m using the moon cup and how does it bend and go inside and how do I draw it out without making a mess?!’ (Laughs) Our films should talk about everything — periods, pregnancy, sex, fantasies… girls talk about all this... and surprise, surprise… we also fantasise! It’s time people making our films realised that!

Priyanka Roy