Known for her bold stances on feminism and commitment towards women’s rights and gender equality, Kalki Koechlin presented ‘Wo-Manlogue', a theatrical monologue on empowerment. By Unnati Joshi
“Dear men, would you let me stand in your placeIJ Would you let me laugh on your faceIJ Or will you continue to call me crazy, sexy, slutty, Basanti, Pinky, sweety and whistle at meIJ And actually you know what, I apologise to the men, it’s not just men. Dear women! Dear aunty, will you stop gawking at meIJ Dear didi, will you stop telling me to shut upIJ Dear Ma, will you stop ignoring meIJ Dear women, will you at least stand up for meIJ” Questions, questions and self-introspection. This was how Kalki Koechlin exhorted her tribe to stand true to their core at an event organised by Ficci ladies Organisation.
The bold and the beautiful Kalki was invited to present a monologue on contemporary women in India. “It is obvious for me or anyone to speak up on various issues related to womanhood. It is about women’s safety, rights and their lives.” Though positing herself as a crusader of women’s rights, her monologue essentially focussed on the hypocrisy within women themselves that sullied their greater strengths. The actress also had a meow moment. Asked if any actress had been mean to her, she took a long pause, then said, “I don’t know.
Actresses have never been bitchy with me maybe because no actress see me as successful enough to be a threat.” And she laughed. “I am not gonna mention but there are female journalists who have criticised the way I dress, like how can she talk about women’s rights issues when she is dressed like thatIJ I find this very strange that you will have to wear a kurta if you want to talk about women issues. You can’t carry a Prada if you are talking about rights,” she added, wearing a blue and white gown. This is obviously a chink in the armour that men encash, she implied.
Kalki’s voice has always favoured the spirit of womanhood; her 20-minute monologue was so powerful that it gave us goose-bumps. She continued to articulate the voice of dissent and protest. “Enough! Enough of a woman who has become vicious from her environment. Enough of a woman who has to become a man to compete, who has to weaken where she is strong or strengthen where she is weak. Enough of a woman who has to make space for her child and lover, who has to occupy what space is left over. Enough of uninformed teenage girls bleeding after losing their virginity and keeping silent after. Enough of having to deal all alone with the morning after. Enough of the disposed foetus or the unwanted daughter. Enough of girls in fairy dresses with bulimia and major complexes. Enough of parents in denial, gender gaps in dividing sexes. I am tired, you are tired, we are all tired. We are tired of acting, manicuring, exercising, aborting, procreating, posing, shopping, smiling, f...ing, threading, the pill, make-up, high heels, stainless steel, tampons, covering up, nurturing, caring and crying,” she sighed.
“I have always been vocal about women’s rights and feminism. It is only now that I am famous that people notice me and hear what I say. Even before my first film, Dev D happened, I was a part of The Skeleton Woman, a play based on the book Women Who Run With The Wolves. It has a feminist premise. I have always picked up work that reflects my ideologies,” she explained.
Kalki also talked about commercial surrogacy. “Currently I am working with a director who has made a documentary on surrogacy in India. I think giving birth to a child is an intense process. It’s a strong bond but is really risky to do that. And about the commercial aspect I think there are women who are surviving on this. If surrogacy exists and is possible, it has to be a choice of the individual or the persons involved in that, the mother, the surrogate mother... Unfortunately the baby doesn’t have choice,” she emphasised.
In the end we did catch up with her lighter side, that of travel. Recently, the actress went on a biking trip to the Northeast with her father for a show that starts on September 17. She travelled across three states and covered 4,000 km.
Talking about the Himalayan Enfield ride, she said, “Me and my father, we used to do a lot of travelling when he was young. We have been to the Himalayas, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and lot of places in South India but we had never been to Northeast. And I think Northeast is a stunning part of our country which is ignored. We covered 4,000 km in two weeks. Both of us were on motor bikes. It was fantastic. Of course for me it was some personal time with my father which I have not had in many years but it was also the connection with local people.” Just like her many roles, Kalki exercises every facet of her very feminine existence.
Photo: Pankaj Kumar