Actor Kalki Koechlin describes the recent world premiere of her short film, Ruhani & Dolma, at the 21st Tasveer Film Festival & Market in Seattle, as “a gratifying moment and the beginning of newage cinema for me and my people back home. Getting audience appreciation and an overwhelming response made me so proud as an Indian,” she admits.
The actor feels independent film-making comes with a unique set of hurdles like primarily tight budgets and distribution gaps. Reflecting on this, Kalki shares, “All indie projects are a challenge, whether they’re at home or abroad, because you’re dealing with very little and absolutely tight budgets with very few to invest. That’s what the state is in reality. The challenge with such cinema is and will be that it requires a certain level of preparation you must have so you don’t waste time on set, alongside openness to improvise according to what is available. That’s the territory of independent film-making all over the world.”
Exploring an indie sci-fi narrative felt like “uncharted territory” for the actor. “I don’t think there are too many films attempting this genre back home, which is part of the reason I was so excited,” Kalki explains. “We don’t really explore science fiction in the context of love and life, yet love is such a huge topic and base of almost all our Hindi films. Getting a global platform at Oscar-qualifying Tasveer fest might open up access for audiences on both sides and break stereotypes about mainstream Bollywood across the globe, showing that there is also thriving indie cinema coming out of India.”
Stepping into the role of Dr Ruhani Rolani, Kalki describes the character as “a balancing of complex science with raw human feeling.” She remains optimistic about the genre’s growth, adding, “If we start taking it’s newage cinema more fearlessly then there are unlimited stories to be told, only if we readily experiment.”Crediting director Chandni Varma for the dialogue’s emotional resonance, she explains, “As one of my film’s scenes where we talk about science just describes it so well. She used an interesting metaphor to explain what it’s like. She talks about an aquarium and how fish inside can move all over, but might not be aware of the world outside. We as a team focussed on adding flavour of life not making it too sciencey as many would have thought.”
{{/usCountry}}Stepping into the role of Dr Ruhani Rolani, Kalki describes the character as “a balancing of complex science with raw human feeling.” She remains optimistic about the genre’s growth, adding, “If we start taking it’s newage cinema more fearlessly then there are unlimited stories to be told, only if we readily experiment.”Crediting director Chandni Varma for the dialogue’s emotional resonance, she explains, “As one of my film’s scenes where we talk about science just describes it so well. She used an interesting metaphor to explain what it’s like. She talks about an aquarium and how fish inside can move all over, but might not be aware of the world outside. We as a team focussed on adding flavour of life not making it too sciencey as many would have thought.”
{{/usCountry}}She notes that short films historically struggle with shelf life, though that is changing. “The short films historically face narrow distribution issues leading to no shelf life. Shorts go on a festival tour and then you often don’t know what to do with them. Thankfully digital streaming platforms have started showing some support that gives a longer life to films like ours.”
Playing off co-star Namit Das required building deep character history under tight production schedules. “Many times you just meet on set itself, and you have to create this history between each other in a short span. Reading beforehand helps you prepare, but there’s also a certain faith you have to rely on,” Kalki notes. Their long-standing friendship made the dynamic seamless, she says: “Namit and I have known each other for a long time. We toured with the play Hamlet, The Clown Prince for about eight years. Knowing your co-actor brings a certain ease on screen.”
Looking ahead, Kalki continues to navigate global narratives across film, television, and theatre. “I have my first American-French feature production coming up, Her Song, a comedy about a writer discovering parallels to the present while researching her grandmother’s origins,” she reveals. “I also have a horror OTT series, Anarth, releasing early next year, and my dark comedy play Belly of the Beast.”