Freedom requires courage to do what you choose to do, and take responsibility for your actions. It means being able to do exactly what I want, without being questioned, with equal opportunities.
kalki koechlin
Freedom requires courage to do what you choose to do, and take responsibility for your actions. It means being able to do exactly what I want, without being questioned, with equal opportunities. The other big aspect for me is being free from guilt. That’s something I've learned as a mother – to not feel guilty when you’re at work away from your child, or when you’re at home with your child and away from work. One of the things that I've learnt in recent times is to have my own sacred space within my house. A space where I can be on my own, do whatever I need for myself, where I’m not being a caregiver to other people. I think my independence has come from having parents who had a very large spirit of adventure. My father was making hang gliders and jumping off cliffs for a living, and my mother introduced me to quite significant figures of history like Joan of Arc and Simon De Beauvoir. So I had this combination of both intellectual and physical freedom– my mom being the brain and my father being the free-spirited adventurer. Every step along the way you have people who inspire you. My teacher in school, Miss Mangaldas, gave me the idea of studying drama when I didn't know what I wanted to do in my life. She looked up all the best drama schools that I could go to. People that I know, who I've worked with in the world of law like Karuna Nundy. Books, of course; I’ve read so many, from Edith Wharton to Simon De Beauvoir to Edith Piaf…. Right now the book I'm reading is by Jessica Chan. A lot of female writers have inspired me. My daughter, Sappho – I named her after a Greek poet who was the first female poet in history. So yes, along the line there have been many people who have paved some of the way for us. Before, if you were trying to be different, you were labelled as unconventional. That was a favourite word that people used with me 10 years ago, but today everybody is unconventional. There are so many female directors, and camerawomen. I think it’s changed in many fields. When you have the female gaze within the professional community, you’re getting a different voice, you’re getting a different perspective. And so that solidarity, of having other women in the room is really, really important for change…and that has started happening. I think freedom is exposure to choice; to as many different kinds of things as possible. So that you can pick and choose what you love. But it takes courage to be free. It’s not that because you’re free you can do whatever you want and not take any responsibility. One instance I remember of being truly free is when we lived part of the time in the Nilgiri mountains because that’s where my dad was teaching hang gliding. We did a lot of trekking, my dad and I, with our two dogs. When I was about 13 years old, after my parents divorced, I was really missing those walks. And one day my mom said ‘take the dogs and go – you can go on your own’. So I took my two fierce Dobermans and we walked for two hours to the top. I opened up the leash and they were running, the wind was strong and I was just at the top of this mountain in a moment of true freedom. I feel free when I've done something that was difficult and I can let it go. I remember when I was shooting for Margarita with a Straw, I was in a wheelchair for two months and wanted to stay ‘method’ because it was such a challenging part. The day that I finished the shoot, we were in Coney Island, off New York, and I stepped out of my wheelchair for the first time in months, and just ran on the beach. That felt really good because we worked so hard so get through that, and I felt like I earned it. kalki koechlin, Actor and writer
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