23 maggio 2012

Kalki Koechlin: Kissing on screen is not a big deal

Prosenjit Chatterjee e Kalki Koechlin in Shanghai
Vi segnalo l'intervista concessa da Kalki Koechlin a Sonil Dedhia, pubblicata oggi da Rediff. Kissing on screen is not a big deal

'[In Shanghai] You play an Indian girl of mixed parentage who looks like a foreigner. Did your personal experience of growing up in Ooty help you?
Yes. I can definitely relate to my character Shalini's anger in the film. She is a small town girl and the people in the town see her as an outsider just because she looks like a foreigner. Even though she belongs to that town, people don't take her seriously and men try to lech at her. Looking back at my growing up days I can relate to all these things. (...)
Would you say it was an emotionally draining role?
Yes, it is one of the toughest roles that I have played so far. I was rewuired to cry and scream my head off. There are many moments in the film that are really intense. There is a scene in the film where I have to beat someone and it was really tough for me to do. We finished the film in a month. We shot in small towns in Latur and Baramati where there was no proper food or electricity. He [Dibakar Banerjee] almost made me cry during the shoot but I must say that the hard work has paid off.
You are working with Prosenjit [Chatterjee] and Emraan Hashmi for the first time. How was the experience?
I didn't know how big a star Prosenjit was before I worked with him in this film. He made us feel really comfortable. He would hang out with us and we ate together. He was very down to earth. On the other hand, I had an image in my mind about Emraan Hashmi that was very filmy and romantic. He got into his character right on the first day of the workshop. He totally surprised me. He has a great sense of humour.
The kissing scene between you and Prosenjit has been in the news...
Indian cinema is still at an adolescent stage when it comes to kissing or intimate scenes. The ban on kissing scenes in films was lifted in 1980 so it's about time that we get used to it. I don't think it is a big deal, nor do I think about it much. I really don't see it as controversial. The media creates the controversy. I think using the kissing scene in the promotions of the film was inevitable. If we don't use it to promote the film someone else will pick it up.  
There is a very funny incident which took place during the filming of the scene.
Yes, it was a very funny but an intense situation when we were shooting for the scene. Dibakar had given us standing instructions not to stop kissing till he says 'cut'. We started filming the scene and after a while we realised that Dibakar was oblivious to the fact that he had to say 'cut', and instead got busy shooting some other scene! I got very angry with him at that time (Smiles)'.