New Delhi (PTI): Kalki Koechlin’s role is poles apart from Naseeruddin Shah in their upcoming hospital drama “Waiting” and the actress says the emotional intelligence between the two helped them to convey the difference nicely.
Kalki, 32, plays a modern advertising professional, while Naseeruddin portrays the character of an old-school philosophy professor in the film as both the characters grapple with grief.
“We are from two different worlds in this film. And it was easy for me because I have become comfortable with him. I have seen a lot of his theatre works, I learn a lot from him.
“He can get angry at times and I know I can also get tired sometimes. We really have an emotional intelligence between us. We didn’t really talk that much but we would really be able to communicate and understand what mood we are in. We got on pretty well,” Kalki told PTI in an interview.
The film depicts the journey of them getting to know each other in a hospital, while nursing their respective comatose spouses. It also delves into the the themes of coping with grief and discovering hope in tragedy.
“There are moments in the film which are definitely difficult emotionally. Like the initial part of the film, when I see my husband is in coma. This was emotionally tense and draining. The rest of the film is post all of this. How do you deal with daily nitty gritties of hospital and how your life functions when the dearest one is in hospital.”
Kalki said she took a cue from her own life’s experience when someone close in her family was admitted in a hospital.
“I have had a family member in a hospital for a long time. So, I know what that strain is like. You have to go to work and be back to the hospital. You have to deal with the regular security checks. All the little details like waiting for the doctor and appointment keeps changing…”
The National-award winning actress will be seen in a glamorous avatar and Kalki credited her director Anu Menon behind her look.
“My character is a glamorous girl. She is an advertising professional. My director wanted me to be a little bit earthy and desi. She asked me to wear kajal with dark hair. She wears heels every time and likes to dress up.”
Her character Tara Deshpande is an amalgamation of her and Menon’s thoughts. “I did a lot of work with Anu when the script got ready. Actually, we worked on the dialogues of Tara together because we wanted to create her together. So, we worked on how she will talk, we wanted her to be a bratty Mumbai girl.”
The actress started her career with ex husband Anurag Kashyap’s black comedy “Dev D” followed by her stints in potboilers “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” and “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani”.
Post that, she is choosing independent films be it disability drama “Margarita with a Straw”, for which she earned her first National award as a special mention, or upcoming release “Waiting”.
“It’s just happening and I am doing. Of course, I want to do more commercial films but those don’t come my way very often. I like the kind of films I am doing currently.”