After playing numerous characters and choosing starkly different subjects; Kalki Koechlin talks about playing herself in a documentary that sensitively ponders upon the bond of age-old neighbors, India and Pakistan. She opens up about the thrill she draws from projects like these, working with writer-director Sabiha Sumer and the over all experience of being associated with Azmaish.

Kalki Koechlin

Kalki Koechlin during the shoot of Azmaish

What drew you to the project in the first place?

I think what drew me to the project was Sabiha’s vision of Azmaish. I liked the fact that this was a project on India and Pakistan that didn’t have to do with conflict. I did wonder why Sabiha approached me to be a part of this, but I am thrilled with the experience and am very grateful for it.

What was the overall experience like?

Like I said, the experience has been enriching. It was quite a learning process to do a documentary and to be myself as opposed to acting and playing a character. Working with Sabiha was a wonderful experience. She is definitely one of the most sensitive filmmakers I have worked with till date and we share a great rapport.

It is the audience that we are trying to reach out to

What was it like to play yourself in front of a camera?

It was definitely a different experience. More than acting it was about observing. Meeting people and understanding their opinions about both the countries was quite interesting and insightful.

With Sabiha during the shoot of Azmaish

You have always stretched out of your comfort zone to associate with projects like these. How important is it for actors to take decisions like these?

I think it depends from actor to actor. For me, there are several factors that help me decide whether I want to take up a certain project or no. It could either be the script, an extremely talented director, a cause or subject that I feel strongly about and also something challenging, that I have never attempted before. My decisions are very instinctive.

It was quite a learning process to do a documentary and to be myself as opposed to acting and playing a character

This is your second crowdfunded project after Mantra, is it difficult to have faith in a project and support it when you know that a producer hasn’t backed it yet or the funds aren’t in place? What are the merits of crowdfunding in your opinion?

I think it is the crux of the movie and the message that it entails makes it what it is and what helps us have faith in the project in the first place. Eventually it is the audience that we are trying to reach out to. And I think crowdfunding is a great way of directly interacting with the audience and asking them to be a part of the project.

Azmaish is currently crowdfunding on Wishberry, you can contribute to the campaign here.