Anurag Kashyap and Kalki Koechlin talk about films, bollywood, themselves and each other.
He’s the man who could well be regarded as the voice of contemporary, independent Hindi cinema. His work, beginning with Paanch, a film starring Kay Kay Menon and Tejaswini Kolhapure that revolved around a rock band, has mostly been done with his own money. “I’m used to funding my films from my own pocket,” says director-producer Anurag Kashyap, the man behind films like Paanch, Black Friday, No Smoking and, more recently, Dev.D and Gulal. He’s sitting comfortably on the steps of the India Habitat Centre’s amphitheatre, eating a banana-blueberry muffin and chasing it down with a hot cup of coffee. Kashyap is in Delhi for Kalki Koechlin’s award-winning play The Skeleton Woman. It’s being managed in the city by theatre company Actor Factor. “I’m also producing it,” Kashyap says. “I’m still very poor but I can raise funds for quality content, in films, in plays, in different genres of art,” he adds, stretching his arms lazily while grinning outrageously at Koechlin, who is now walking towards him.
Kashyap should know. After all, he’s a director whose films (despite winning appreciation at film festivals) have rarely seen nationwide release. Paanch, for instance, is regarded by fans and critics alike as one of the best films to emerge from contemporary Indian cinema. In fact, many feel that, had Paanch actually released, Kay Kay Menon’s career trajectory would’ve been extremely different, in that he could have become a poster boy even for commercial Hindi cinema. But that was not to be, and Paanch (despite the critical acclaim) remained hidden from a wider audience.
How did Kashyap keep going? How did he, despite all the setbacks, keep pushing himself to make more films? “I kept drinking, I kept working. Then, I kept drinking, I kept working. Most importantly,” he says and pauses for a moment, “I kept working.”
By his own admission, he had hit a low phase, but was still confident that there was an audience to appreciate his work. “I always knew there was a section of people who would like my films. But I’m only glad that the base is increasing.” Kashyap says he’s still not compromising on how he presents his films to the audiences. However, “I’ve learnt one thing: while keeping my content and ideas intact, I’m learning to simplify the art of storytelling,” he says, firmly holding Koechlin’s hand.
Koechlin, for her part, says that Kashyap’s innate ability to make films for himself, without making concessions on anything, is what drew her, as an artiste, towards him. Kashyap, however, interjects and mentions how disgusted he was with the inclusion of an item song in No Smoking. The two (Koechlin and Kashyap) met on the sets of Dev.D and, since then, they’ve been together as a couple. Their light-hearted banter forces a dreadful pause in our interview, but it’s amusing to watch the duo romancing like teenagers.
A sample:
Koechlin: “This mean man even rejected me after seeing my photographs for Dev.D.”
Kashyap: “But you looked so model-ish. I hate gora models.”
Koechlin: “I’m leaving.”
Kashyap (grabbing Koechlin): “No, don’t leave me. Don’t. Please don’t.
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You’re like a child, I remark, embarrassed and struggling to take down notes while the two engage in whispering sweet nothings. “I’m very happy. My life is beautiful and I’m all sunshine,” he says, grinning idiotically. But there’s also sincerity in Kashyap’s voice, as this leading indie director declares that he’s in love.
While listening to the tale of Koechlin’s own struggles as an actor, it’s not difficult to understand why these two are together as a couple in the first place. “I’ve been getting lots of stupid offers promising ‘bikini roles, shot in Thailand, madam’. But yes, I will say yes to a couple of films which offer interesting roles,” laughs Koechlin. Completely passionate about theatre (“despite the fact that nowhere in the world does it pay well”), Koechlin, who grew up in Pondicherry and studied in Ooty before going to London to study theatre, remembers, with a shrug, a particularly low phase when she had no money in London. “I went out to the supermarket to sift for food items that were given free to consumers because they’d breached the expiry date.”
Things are looking up for Kashyap, and he’s also happy that his eight-year-old daughter seems particularly fond of Koechlin. “Remember, I’d taken you to Select Citywalk with my daughter? I wanted to woo you,” he teases her. “You’re a sick man,” Koechlin smirks in response.
On a serious note (a rarity in this interview), Kashyap, speaking on the current issue of the standoff between producers and multiplexes, says, “Yes, multiplexes are charging astronomical sums to get audiences into the theatres, but what amazing content is Yash Raj Films’ banner offering, please tell me?”
Which is why, Kashyap feels, the time is right for him to turn producer. So Kashyap’s producing Marathi director Rahi Anil Barve’s next feature. (Barve’s short feature Manjha will be part of Slumdog Millionaire’s DVD.) He’s also working with John Abraham on Bombay Velvet, and trying to convince Koechlin to collaborate with him on a script for a film called Happy Ending. “Please do the film,” he says, looking forlornly at her.
For now, creativity and a plethora of scripts will ensure that the newest couple in our Hindi film industry remains together.