'I stay very organic and natural'

Real take

One would generally associate Kalki Koechlin with offbeat films but the actor is all too pepped to say that she would love to do a ‘kadak’ item number in future.

The bubbly star, who was in the city to demystify shaving myths with Gillette Venus, took time off to share with Anushree Agarwal her take on Bollywood, beauty and her bucketlist.

You have to choose between a commercial film with a huge star cast and an offbeat film with a new aspiring director...

It totally depends on the script and the storyline.

Your most memorable role...

The one in ‘Margarita with a Straw’ definitely left a big mark because of the amount of work I put in for it. However, my favourite memorable role would be the one in ‘Dev.D’. It was my first film, I was so excited and I had a great time!

Your inspiration in cinema...

I like a lot of actors. Tabu has been one of my big inspirations when I was starting out. Then there’s Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep and Kangana Ranaut. In the men, it’s Shekhar Kapur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Daniel Day-Lewis whose god for me — his preparation and transformation for each and every film is incredible.

One thing you could change about Bollywood...

It’s the writing, I think. Many a time, I’ve gone on floor with a script which is still not complete. I don’t think we treat writers with enough professionalism and priority. They also don’t get paid well.

A director you’d like to work with...

Vishal Bhardwaj, Gautham Menon and Vikramaditya Motwane.

A product you’d endorse given a chance...

Anything which is environment friendly.

Three things on your bucketlist...

To do a Tamil film, a ‘kadak’ item number and travel to Peru.

What’s in the pipeline?

I am doing a film called ‘Scholarship’. It’s a small Hindi film by Raman Bharadwaj with Konkona Sen Sharma and me in it. It’s about the corruption in the mining industry and also about a boy who gets a scholarship. My first web series, ‘Smoke’, set in Goa, where I play a Portuguese DJ, should be releasing in July.

Of late, fairness creams have come under the scanner. What’s your take on beauty in that context?

I don’t think beauty has anything to do with fairness. I believe I am too fair, I spend my time in the sun trying to get a little darker and bronze. I think we should celebrate all kinds of beauty, be it in terms of size, skin colour or ethnicity. I just believe in as much diversity.

What’s your beauty regime like?

I stay very organic and natural. I use cold-pressed coconut oil to clean my skin and argan oil for my body. For my hair, I use a hair oil with nine ingredients made by a woman in Puducherry. When I have shoots, I have to wear makeup, but I keep it very minimal just to let my skin breathe.