Women are not a doormat. We are equivalent to men. It is just that we have different bodies and different biological needs.
— Kalki Koechlin
I think beauty shows exteriorly what you are feeling inside; so if you are not in a great mood, it shows on your face a lot.
'Jia Aur Jia' is like my first proper fun, masti Bollywood film. I have a full-on dance number.
I, for one, personally like rom-coms, silly rom-coms, but at the same time, I also want to watch a documentary or an award-winning drama.
I do not get that many offers in commercial cinema, to be very honest.
I am not an activist. I am an actor.
I don't work for awards; they're just an icing on the cake.
Going to London at 18 to study drama and theatre made me grow up really fast.
I will say that my style sense is very mercurial. There are days when I love to be all comfy, relaxed in casual wear, and there are days when I go all matching, matching.
In Bollywood, it's always feast or famine for an actress. That's the way of the game.
I think the glamour industry, all over the world, does portray a version that is 'Photoshopped' - a picture that is not very realistic.
There were a lot of pretty women in cinema around Audrey Hepburn's time, but she stood out because she had a very interesting personality - which went beyond her looks. She did so much for women, for animal rights, for children's education - it's always the personality that comes through and makes one seem beautiful.
In marriage, a woman becomes the weaker sex, even if her husband doesn't want her to be. This happens because of the way society has built the institution.
I improvise a lot and try something new every couple of years.
It's only over time that you get to exploring or adding nuances to the character. Like my part in 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' - I am so not the person who wears high heels and totters about like a poodle.
I, in particular, am in a confusing spot because I am Indian, but I am white, which people don't get. So often I find myself struggling to explain my Indianness.
I don't comment on everything; I don't comment on things I don't know enough about. I feel people should talk about something only if they feel strongly about them.
Being a feminist means asking for equality. But people take it the other way at times. It is looked down upon is because it is seen as man-hating. But, feminism is a really crazy idea that suggests men and women are equal.
When I have to be in public, I can't be in a bad mood.
There's nothing like performing for a live audience.
I think, no matter how successful you are, there is some struggle of one kind or the other for every actor at every level. There are times when your work progresses at an extremely slow pace.
Women should get together and become the pillars of support for each other.
You can't force people to change. You can only give them the option.
We need better and stronger roles for female actors.
I feel, at times, women in India go beyond their comfort zone just to clad the trend, and that automatically becomes a faux pas. If you are not comfortable with something, please don't wear it.
Often, we hide our personality and are afraid of bringing it out in our clothes. So, I think when people are fashionable, they are able to express themselves.
I love being unconventional because that's the reason I stand out.
You wouldn't believe how many people have told me that I need to fix my teeth or that I need to restructure my jawline.
Of course, people have tried to stereotype me... But it's very short-lived if you realise that you're only as new as your newest film... You have to look beyond the period of initial reactions and recognise that there's a bigger body of work and an effort to do something bigger.
Once I got married, I was only invited to the things that Anurag was invited to. People would say, 'Call Anurag's wife.' They wouldn't say, 'call Kalki' or 'call Kalki's husband.'
I consider myself as a human being with lots of ups and downs and learning from a lot of failures before I can succeed.
The country has double standards - it's obsessed with fair skin on one hand, but if the woman is white, she is expected to be loose-moraled.
We don't expect someone in a bikini to stand up for women's rights; we only expect a girl in an 'NGO outfit' to speak about it. It's as much as the right of the girl in the bikini to talk about it as a woman in a kurta. We need to embrace that multiplicity.
I keep saying this: If you're not a feminist, you're a bad person.
I do like to dress up, and I love to go for red carpet events and look my best, but I have to be comfortable, and I don't want to wear make-up when I am taking a flight.
It's great to come home always... coming home to good south Indian meals or Andhra food is always a pleasure.
Theatre is really an actor's playground.
I do not differentiate between a commercial and an indie project as long as there is a strong subject and the character in the script is relatable.
A film is a mirror image of our society. If there's something wrong with the way we make films or the way women are stereotyped, then it means that it's happening in real life.
My mom was very worried when I was starting off my career in the film industry. She never told me to not take up acting, but she would always tell me to have a backup plan so that if nothing works out in the acting career, then I can switch.
Being independent in my choices is important to me.
I am just like a common woman who love shopping in Sarojni Nagar and Janpath. I am the one who shops on Indian street, in malls of Dubai and even vintage stores of London and New York.
I like fashion, but it's not something that I follow religiously.
There's lots said about me. I have teeth that are way too big for my face or that I am too skinny for my own good... And I can safely say that I have three left feet. But there's nothing I can do about it. That's the way I look, and that's the way I was born.
I think it's what's inside that makes you beautiful on the outside.
It's only that we live in a patriarchal society, and therefore, the word 'feminism' has to be used as a counter to patriarchy. But feminism is about being equal. The word used should be 'equalist,' as it is about all humans being equal and respecting each other for that.
In the beginning, I was very stubborn and always wanted to be just an actor. I was told by a lot of people to try my hand at writing or directing, but I always thought, 'I am an actor, and this is what I want to do.'
It is enough if I can be relevant. It is more about me keeping up with youngsters than influencing youngsters. So I just want to stay relevant, really.
When your private life has been dragged into public space, you tend to attain a zen-like composure.
I like social media, as it cuts out the middleman. You can be yourself, you can't be misquoted, and it's also useful for me to get information about my theatre shows across to people.
