Speaking to the modern Chanda

Under the glow of the neon, she looked radiant, almost luminous. Before trooping into the greenroom, we had been drawing a mental picture of this Indian girl of French origin, who speaks fluently in Tamil and is making great headway with her Hindi, wondering what this famous lady would be like. After all, Kalki Koechlin has made many heads turn with her portrayal of Chandramukhi in Anurag Kashyap's 'Dev D'. But once she greeted us with a smile, her unassuming yet vibrant persona made our trepidations vanish. Casually dressed in a pair of jeans and a black tee, she was hastily clearing the sofa of the props, costumes, bags, make-up kits to make room for us to sit and have a chat.
Kalki was recently in the city with Anurag Kashyap's stage production Skeleton Woman, co-written and performed by her and Prashant Prakash, presented by Scullers at Kyra.
Kalki has been actively involved in theatre since 2002, when she went to the University of London to study the stage craft. "I was part of a group called Theatre of Relativity in London, but there, it is still the big-budget traditional musicals make the standard theatre and that is limiting to what they call fringe theatre. You really struggle, financially too, if you experiment. In India, there is more scope for doing new kinds of work," she said.
So Kalki, who loves to explore new stuff (and hates the winters abroad), was drawn back to India. She is an intuitive and focused actor, and the 'Skeleton Woman' came alive with her expressiveness and Prashant's emotive performance. One would wonder what made Kalki, whose passion lies in acting, take up the pen to script, with Prashant, this modern drama based on the original Inuit folk tale. "It happened by mistake, I think!" she laughed. "Actually, I find writing therapeutic, although I have written short stories and poems only for myself before. This story just stuck in my head and I started writing." In fact, she mentioned in the passing that she and beau Anurag are writing together.
Stage is where her heart lies, where she wants to come back again and again, but as for her career, it definitely is Bollywood calling. "In Hindi cinema, all the films I have so far been offered are alternative. They are great, but I would love to do in mainstream, commercial Bollywood movies! Everyone seems to think I am a serious actor only. But why should I say no to a big commercial film?" The only commercial movies she has been offered so far are in Telugu, which she had to decline because of the language barrier.
Kalki's foreign looks have been a hindrance sometimes. "I often get offers for roles of the foreign face girl. To some level, I think Bollywood still has that bias. So I have to be patient," Kalki said.
The actor has busy days ahead. She wants to do a play written by Kaizad Gustad called 'Lesson Zero' which has "a snappy, interesting script". And she has films like Bijoy Nambiar's 'Shaitan' and Anurag Kashyap's 'Happy Ending' (which Mr Kashyap has said was written for her) lined up.
"It's not like that!" (Did we see a hint of a blush there?) "He had the idea, it's a role that he saw me fit to do. It wasn't like he wrote it FOR me. There's this girl from England and her dad's Indian. She comes back to look for her dad, that's the story. That's why it suited me. It makes sense, I mean, it feels good, I mean... We are so enthusiastic to work together." We certainly wish a happily ever after to this talented pair who love to think, and live, out of their cultural boxes.

(An interview with Kalki Koechlin I did a few months ago)

Music chooses you: An interview with Sona Mohapatra

The sultry-voiced diva can hold you in a trance. Her music has a strangely enigmatic quality about it, a quality that one would be tempted to call hypnotic, even intoxicating. Sona Mohapatra is emerging as one of the new-age artistes who are taking India's non-film and rock music scenes to new horizons.
Sona the engineer and MBA chose to leave her lucrative job as an FMCG manager to sing her dulcet tunes full-time. She says, "You don't choose music, music chooses you." As you pause, mulling over this much-used explanation, she adds, "I was always doing music. (She has trained in Hindustani classical for over 12 years.) But I realised that I had to devote myself completely to it and not try to juggle both. There is no escape button."
So began her journey and she has been singing strains of rock, folk, Sufi, balancing and experimenting with the genres. "My music is fusion but its bedrock is essentially Indian. I believe in soul music. Instead of strict adherence to genres, my music is an absorption of different cultures. I imbibe as I move on. I think there is good music and bad music. I just want to be part of good music, music that is timeless."
Her first album was eponymous and her second album 'RAAT/DIN' is in the making. Sona has found a unique way of releasing the songs from it though. "Instead of cribbing about free downloads and all, I think we should use new media." So, the first single from 'RAAT/DIN', Diljale, was launched via Nokia Digital Music Store, and a new song will come there every two months.
But there is one song of hers you could not have missed. Remember 'Paas Aao' from the Close Up ad? That is a part of Sona's upcoming single actually, and the singer has sung all the 13 language versions (including Kannada). She also has another Kannada connection, in a funny sort of a way. "My first single 'Bolo Na' has a Kannada version. Actually, it was just ripped, but when they came to Sony, the company told me about it. So now, you have a Chitra version and a Sona version in Kannada," she laughs.
She has had her stints in Bollywood too, like a duet with Shreya Ghosal under Vishal-Shekhar and more, but playback singing does not enthuse her as much as non-film music, and especially live performances. "I love to face my audience," the artiste says.
The singer has recently been a part of MTV Rock On and you will catch her performing on the show today (November 16) with Palash Sen. She praises the show effusively, calling it a "refreshing change". "I am glad that MTV is back to concentrating on music so intensively. India is waking up to live shows, where magic can happen impromptu, and a show like this helps."
Sona has been wowed by the number of talented bass players that Rock On has discovered, and has even taken one of them, Keshav, on board. Although she is very impressed by the instrumentalists, she has a slight regret. She says, "There is But although dressing up and being a 'performer' as they say is more of your individuality and personality in my opinion – I mean, to each his own -- I do believe that a lead singer needs to be the frontrunner and to hold the stage together. This is the area where Rock On has lacked."
Rock On, album, live shows, and a collaboration in London and a project with a French DJ on dance music in the offing -- Sona is busy creating original expressions and genuine music.

(A hacked version of this interview appeared in Expresso, The New Indian Express on November 16, 2009)

Chetan Bhagat interview

I did the interview on October 6, 2009, just before Chetan Bhagat's '2 States' was released.

He started writing in class five, but only because his school didn't leave him much of a choice. When his class teacher announced that they were starting a school magazine in which everyone had to write, Chetan Bhagat came up with a joke. "I was forced to write! It was an assignment. But when the magazine was published and I saw my name in print, I thought, this is something man!" Thus, the class five boy felt the excitement of writing and Chetan, even after doing what a "good, Indian, middle-class boy does -- go to IIT and IIM", took up the pen, with the joke transforming into a streak of humour and enjoyable light-heartedness that charecterise all his books.
This popular and prolific writer's fourth books, '2 States: The Story of My Marriage' will be on the stands this week. This story is a page out of the author's life -- about a Punjabi man marrying a Tamil girl, about the hurdles, about how marriage, especially in India is a wedding of families. Chetan says, "Indians love stories about love and marriage, they never get bored with them. But you know what, I am scared. The question is how well have I disguised things, since the book is about people who are so close to me. The feelings are honest, of course, as always." He did drop a few things on the insistence of his wife and hopes his in-laws don't disown him after reading it. "My life is about to change for sure after this," he adds with a chuckle.
His candidness, ease, and an honest perception about who he is would warm anyone towards him. He calls himself an entertainer and feels that through books like his, reading has become entertainment, and books are making a comeback like the way radio was reinvented. But there is genuine amazement on his face when he ponders over how he has shot up the popularity curve. Four books and three movies based on the first three -- 'Hello' (released), 'Three Idiots' (with Aamir Khan, to be released shortly) and one based on 'Three Mistakes of My Life' is being directed by Rock On! director Abhishek Kapoor. "I never pictured myself here," says Chetan with disbelief still in his voice, "Only after Five Point... was published did I realise I have become this pop culture and youth icon, as people put it. Yes, aftter the book though, I felt if its simplicity and my fun style of liking has been liked by X number of people, then it can reach out to more and more."
While there pre-bookings for '2 States' is reaching frenzied levels, Chetan is contemplating taking a break from books to write a film script. He also wants to have more control over the movies based on his books from now on. "I have a mixed reaction towards Hello. thatI appreciate the fact that it was made, but I felt it seemed fake on many levels. On the other hand, I visited IIMB for the shooting of Three Idiots and saw Aamir doing ten takes for that one perfect shot."
He quickly adds, "I am nowhere close to being a perfectionist though. I feel nature made everything a little flawed, and I like it that way. I don't even like working super-hard." This from a man who was balancing a high-paying corporate job and his writing career till a few months ago. He regrets that it cost him a bit of his life and health, but feels that his education and corporate training gave made him a true professional.
Now, this full-time writer and house husband is just glad to be home and writing, and hoping that '2 States' will be the biggest one till now.

The Drama Queen

An interview with Lilette Dubey

"Theatre is a cultural habit that takes time to develop. It isn't highly developed in India, but spaces like NCPA, Prithvi, Ranga Shankara are big propellants in helping the habit grow."
-- Lilette Dubey

She has been romancing the stage for over three decades, "Thirty-five years, I think, yes, definitely," she says, and has charmed audiences with her screen presence. Lilette Dubey is the lady who has wowed us with both her striking performance and her looks, ageing gracefully as she has.
"I started doing theatre when I was in college. I was in Delhi and I was part of the theatre that was happening in places like Lady Shriram College. I did some, what I would call semi-professional theatre back then. But the bug had bitten me and it has been my most enduring passion," Lilette says.She is bringing her directorial venture, Mahesh Dattani's 'Brief Candle', to town in support of the India Foundation for the Arts on September 6 at Chowdiah Memorial Hall.
Lilette, an actress at heart, became part of the television and film fraternities around ten years back with serials like 'Raahein' and 'Aur Phir Ek Din'. With the films 'Bawandar' and 'Zubeidaa', she had etched an indelible mark in filmdom as well, with around 30 films to her credit.
But Lilette feels that for an actor, there is no other place than theatre. "Film is a very visual medium in which the vision of the director dominates. Also, since it is a commercial medium, a lot of external factors determine how it will turn out." The immediacy with the audience, the freedom of choice and the suspension of disbelief, using which actors can virtually convince the audience of anything, draw Lilette to drama.
The actress says she was drawn to direction because she wanted "full creative licence to do the kind of work I wanted to do". Whether it is experimental theatre or the traditional form, Lilette looks for original content. "The production should be context-driven and I feel the theme should explore relationships at some level," she says. Even Sammy, that was based on Mahatma Gandhi, was more an exploration of his mind, rather than his life, Lilette adds.
She founded a theatre company, the Theatre Action Group, in Delhi. "We wanted to find a distinct voice for Indian theatre in English," she says. The group will turn twenty in early 2011, and Lilette has big plans for the birthday celebration, which includes staging their best and most-loved productions at the end of next year.
Right now, she is deeply absorbed in shooting 'Pankh', being directed by Sudipto Chattopadhyay. "It is a deep, dark and disturbing film and I love being a part of it." She is also busy with "a bunch of other commercial films", including 'I Am 24' whose shoot has recently concluded. She is also planning a new stage production in another seven months and is looking for something fresh for that.
Acting and directing have been done. One would wonder if she will take up the pen next. "I enjoy writing very much, and my writing will have to be fiction. Honestly, I've never thought of writing a play because it is a very complex craft. The simplest play, I would think, is more complex than the most interesting film. But yes, I have contemplated direction in films," Lilette replies. The fans will surely be waiting for that.