Now I know Hindi, and I can read and write Hindi, but the problem is that I can't improvise when I am acting because I think in English, so I have to translate my thinking from English to Hindi, and therefore, I speak slowly.
— Kalki Koechlin
People often think that I am funny and crazy, but I think they have also come to love me for it.
If you can't go for a honeymoon, steal a weekend and go somewhere. Anurag and I do it quite often. We switch off our phones and go for a small weekend getaway.
We can't let fear steer the way, dictate our lives.
I am always open to any film from any place, given the role and the script is interesting.
I have never been ashamed of whatever I do.
If you are a musician, you practise your instrument every day, but actors can't be on a set every day. Theatre is a way for me to keep practising my art form.
Woody Allen's sense of humour has always attracted me, and I love the way he can make life so meaningful and yet show us what a farce it can be at the same time.
Even when you don't want, your clothes always speak for you. So fashion is definitely an important statement.
I don't even mind playing a bimbo or a silly girl, as long as it isn't stereotyped and there's a reason for that character to be part of the story.
Adults should be intelligent enough to know what they want - if you don't like it, then don't consume it. A rating system for kids and teens is more important. Especially for violent shows.
I cry at the drop of a hat.
Theatre is more metaphorical where you have to be louder and larger than life, whereas film is more subtle and more real.
At home, my parents were quite old, so the surrounding was of elder people. There was no noise. Reading books was encouraged; TV was not encouraged, so I was the geeky, studious type of girl.
I don't believe in becoming famous overnight.
When I was studying in London, I worked part-time as a waitress. I was teaching drama to kids. I did a lot of odd jobs to pay for my studies.
There's a lot of pressure on women to look in a certain way. It's not easy to live in a world that objectifies women.
I haven't been trying to lose weight. I wish I would put on some weight.
I'm from a small town where the pace of life is slow.
I have always been good with kids, as I used to teach drama to kids.
A director's job is like parenting. You have to look after your actors like children, pay attention to each of their different abilities.
I like Kerala a lot. The beautiful beaches there, the backwaters - I have good memories of the place.
Everybody should read 'Slaughterhouse-Five' by Kurt Vonnegut. This book is about the hypocrisy of war, told in satire, and is hard-hitting and truthful.
I am probably spiritual in the sense that I do believe there is more to life than what we see.
If you want to have a nice laugh, then 'My Friend Pinto' is a movie to watch.
I find it very hard to dance. I have 2 left feet.
I don't want to choose between commercial and independent cinema. I just want to choose between a good film and a bad film.
Vulnerability is important in life, I feel. That's what allows you to experience intense emotions, whether it's joy or pain or sadness.
Theatre is my first love; I would not have done it if I didn't love it and certainly not for the money - you really have to believe in it.
Once I wanted to get into films, I took my time about it because when I first got to Bombay, I gave my photos and CDs to all the production houses. But the roles that came my way were the 'typical white girl dancing in the background' kind of roles, which I was not too interested in, or it was advertisements.
My mum was quite strict, so I was in a very strict household.
People like Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut are really paving the way for successful women.
I have so much advice for men. They need to know that their mother is not their wife... and their wife will never be their mother.
Yes, India is intolerant towards women, at least when it comes to their safety issues. When I was shooting in Jharkhand, I was constantly being followed by two soldiers to ensure that I was safe. Women are so unsafe in our country.
There is always going to be depth and layers to people and that's what interests me in a character: when there is some problem to overcome, when there is a complication to understand in a person.
There's a thing about opinions... They are formulated over time. They tend to change with time, and you are going to change your mind many times.
I want to work with as many directors as possible because with each director, you learn something new.
What makes us really human is it's in the presence of death that we start valuing life.
I like to believe I perform better under pressure and at the last minute.
In your 20s, you are worried about body issues, your weight, how you are dressed. In your 30s, you're like, 'Oh my God, I am getting old. I am going to enjoy everything.'
Theatre is something that keeps me very alert, and I am actively creating whether I am on stage or directing. In films, I feel I become more of an introvert, going deeper in the realism of a character.
A lot of people make fashion their whole life, which I think is not cool.
I don't have any limitations that I only want to do serious films. I am trying to break that image but not very consciously.
As a teenager, I was very awkward in my skin. I was never in the cool gang. I had braces and was quite the geek as well as a tomboy.
Every role that one does - at least, that's what happens in my case - becomes a sort of therapy.
I love outdoor places in the evenings; I don't like box-like clubs.
In India, you can just show up at a friend's house, and they will feed you; you can borrow someone's clothes and touch each other. In London, they would say, 'Oh, let's meet for coffee at 4:15, and we will talk about, I don't know, this play that we saw.'
I was born in Pondicherry. Both my parents are French. They met in Pondicherry in the '70s, got married, and stayed back in India.
I think you're stereotyped after every film. Post 'Dev D,' I was only offered bold roles. Similarly, after 'Margarita With A Straw,' I was offered roles where I had to play differently-abled people. So, no matter what type of film you work in, people tend to slot you.
You shouldn't feel awkward in your own body and constantly try to be an image for somebody else. You should to be comfortable in it.
