While many believe that it is a great time to be an actor in India as there are plenty of opportunities in different mediums, actor Kalki Koechlin said that skin color still dictates the type of role an actor is offered, as she has experienced it first hand.
She has been working non-stop for the past two years due to her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter Sappho. She lamented that discrimination based on an actor’s caste is still prevalent in the film industry.
She revealed that she has got the typecast in the rich girl image despite her varied roles. She told, “I have had a director say to me, ‘I think you will completely ace this role because you play a psychotic in it’. That’s the kind of perception people have of me, and I feel quite frustrated. Obviously because of the colour of my skin, I can only play these upper-class characters.”
She further added, “I know of an actor with a dusky complexion who is always given the role of a maid. That frustrates her. Everyone has been put into boxes. I am waiting for the right role to come my way so that I can challenge myself.”
It’s roles like this that give her the freedom to experiment, she admitted. But it was a risk as there was no producer on board when she was offered the film. Isn’t it scary, diving into a project that seems shiny from the start? Koechlin said that it’s really hard.
She concluded, “You have to pick your battles. I don’t do it every time. If it was an unknown director, I wouldn’t have probably. I had seen his first film, so I was in good hands. As an actor, you are greedy for these type of roles where you get to dissect characters, go deep into the role. When you have one, you jump on it.”