The talented actress, Kalki Koechlin is going places. She comes to Toronto, with
an equally talented director, Shonali Bose. Together, they present a bold, beautiful
and brilliant film at the TIFF. Margarita with a Straw.
Kalki as Laila is a bright young teenager, who suffers from cerebral palsy. She is feisty
and fiery. Despite her disability, Laila is a go-getter, a high
achiever and aspires to be a writer. She has to deal with the fact that either
she is often ignored by people around her or
they make unwitting remarks about her disability. She seeks comfort in
her best friend, a guy in school and her mother (Revathi). Winning a scholarship to study in New York,
Laila is super excited to embark on a new journey, a new beginning.
In a New York street demonstration, she
meets a young Pakistani activist, Khanum
(debutant Sayani Gupta), ), who challenges her beliefs, sparks her creativity, and, eventually,
takes her to bed. For these two women, it's the beginning of a remarkable love
story. She embarks on a journey of sexual discovery
which hinders the relationships between her family and friends discovering
her own true identity.
Margarita, with a Straw is a consistently rewarding
portrait of a young woman coming of age, making mistakes, and finding the
unpredictable path of her own desire. Shonali Bose has touched upon two taboo
topics - disability and sexuality with maturity and Kalki has enacted her part
with sensitivity.
Kalki Koechlin has delivered a superb performance. She says that
it was a lot of work, six months of
preparation. She loved the script because it focuses on who the person is,
beyond her disability. Shonali is like an open book and that really helped her
play the part, she says. As for her speech, she worked with a therapist, to
reunderstand, to use her tongue in a different way, because it requires a lot
of movement. When asked whether the film will create an awareness or ruffle a
few feathers, she said it'll do both. Hopefully, there will be more of an
awareness.
Shonali Bose made her feature debut as writer-director
with Amu(2005) and
co-wrote the feature Chittagong (2012). Margarita, with a Straw (2014) is her latest film.
Talking about the film, she says that she grew up with a relative who has cerebral palsy. I asked her what she
wanted for her 40th birthday, and she replied that she just wanted to have sex.
That remark stayed with her and therefore the film is drawn extensively from
her personal experiences. She says that she likes to do films on topics which no
one has ever dealt with before. She was excited about the standing ovation that
they received at the TIFF premiere and is looking forward it its release in
India in February, after a couple of other Film Festivals in different parts of
the world.
When asked what advice she has for
newcomers she says 'Go for it baby',
don't hold yourself back'.
Margarita,
with a Straw is a contemporary story that will definitely strike a chord with
global audiences. The supporting cast have also given brilliant performances,
and the film will surely leave people with a different viewpoint on disability and sexuality.
Three
cheers to the beauties with brains!
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