Showing posts with label Goldfish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goldfish. Show all posts
It’s important to educate your child early about bad touch and good touch-Kalki Koechlin
8:25 AM
Kalki Koechlin’s vivid, unflinching take on nursing a newborn in a Mother’s Day comedy sketch called ‘I am Okay’ went viral this year as it resonated with legions of newbie moms who struggle to articulate the endless exhaustion and ecstasy of handling an “existential boulder”. The actor, writer, playwright and parent, who has authored a graphic novel on pregnancy and parenting called ‘The Elephant in the Womb’, talks to Sneha Bhura on raising a Covid baby, travelling with a three-year-old and lessons on motherhood from her latest film ‘Goldfish’
Sneha Bhura (TIMES PARENTING | THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 24, 2023)
Your daughter Sappho was born in February 2020, just before the world stuttered to a halt with a pandemic-induced Coronavirus lockdown. As a first-time parent, how did you readjust your childcare plans in such disorienting circumstances?
Basically, I didn’t have any childcare. Luckily, we had our domestic help who decided to live-in with us. But other than that, it was my partner and I who raised our baby. It was an intense time because I also had to look after my 13-year-old brother. My dad and his wife were stuck abroad as there were no international flights. My brother’s boarding school sent him to me. So, I had a newborn and a teenager. It was parenting 2.0! Between taking care of my teenage brother and changing diapers, there was no sleep at night. It was seven intense months.
You had opted for a water birth with help from a doula. What would you like to tell expectant mothers about the potential risks and benefits of this ‘natural’ delivery method from your personal experience?
I think it’s fantastic. But it needs a lot of planning. And you obviously need to check with a medical professional whether your body is fit enough to have a natural birth or if there are other complications. Sanam, my doula, was around and that gave us this extra sense of security because it’s not just the birth, it’s the pre and the post care too: How are you preparing mentally before and after the birth? How do you breastfeed the newborn? How do you keep this tiny thing alive? So, having a long chat with your gynaecologist and really writing down your birth plan — what you expect in those hours of labour, things that may go wrong, things you need to do then — is essential. You can really lay it out and come to an agreement. It’s sort of like an unofficial contract between you and your gynaecologist.
Your book ‘Elephant In The Womb’ was a raw account of pregnancy and the post-partum experience which you sometimes described as a nightmare. But what is it like parenting a growing three-year-old?
I love this time when they’re chatting and talking. They’re very entertaining. I want to frame a sentence of hers every day. There’s always some new funny sentence she has so it’s great fun. But of course, they are becoming cleverer and more manipulative. They know how to get something out of you by throwing a tantrum. And because she was a Covid baby, she had a lot of time with mama and she’s very attached to mama. So now comes the challenge of being away. I used to travel with her every time I went for a shoot but that’s not possible anymore. Now she needs to be in one place. So that challenge is coming up now.
How do you deal with the concern and anxiety of your child being in public places now that she has started school?
One of the first things to do is just giving your child the space to talk whenever you are with them. Constantly being curious about their life in school helps: What they’re doing with their social life? Who are their best friends? Who are their teachers? What are the people they don’t like? All of that stuff. Being involved and curious about their life is very, very important to understand how things are going. And of course, the other is to start educating your child about their body boundaries. All of that is really important to us. So, we’ve explained good touch and bad touch. We’ve explained to her how to own your space, how you can ask for space if you want it.
Parents often delay talking to their children about inappropriate touch. Teaching your child about it when she’s three years old, what does that look like?
Actually there’s a lot of support online. For example, a mother shared with me a song called ‘The boundaries song’ on YouTube. It’s made with cartoons which is perfect for this age group. It teaches them how some people love cuddles, some don’t; how some people’s kisses you like, some you don’t. It’s a really fun song. So, there’s an appropriate way to talk to even a three-year-old about these things. I don’t think there’s any sort of time limit; I think everybody can be spoken to. I always feel like the more I speak to my child as a human being and less as a little baby, and by being more honest with her, the better relationship we will have with each other.
They say sustainability goes out the window after the birth of a child when you just want to get through the day, and night! As a green parent, what are some of the consumer choices you have been advocating?
I remember when I told my doula that I only want to use cloth diapers, she was like, “Oh, that’s very sweet and all but please, you use cloth diapers in the day and at night use proper diapers.” And it was good advice (laughs). But what I did do is go the extra mile to find out about throwaway diapers which are still sustainable. So, in the day I was dealing with a lot of laundry from the cloth diapers and, at night, I was using biodegradable, store-bought ones made of bamboo. In the beginning, it was all very hard to do but because I was home and there was a pandemic, I just started figuring out a lot of things (about sustainability) like ordering organic and non-toxic floor and bathroom cleaners, shampoos and soaps. It just became something that I did as a sort of a big chunk (of my time). Sometimes even at 2 am in the morning after I had done my breastfeeding! But one of the things we do now is swapping things like clothes and cribs. I know so many kids and so many parents now that it helps to pass things around because kids grow out of their clothes so quickly. It’s become like a system.
You did a travel show with your father on your biking journey together in northeast India. Considering your love for adventure and travel, how do you deal with the daunting task of hitting the road with a child? Is there a mother-daughter travel series in the works?
This poor child has been to more continents than most of us (laughs). After seven months of being in lockdown, we were so frustrated that we decided to drive across the country to south India where my mother has a big home. She was also projectile vomiting in the car, that was another thing! And then my partner is from Israel. As soon as we were allowed to travel abroad, we went to Israel to visit his whole family, his grandparents. Then I had to shoot my film ‘Goldfish’ in London. She came there. So, she has been moving a lot. She has been great with travel. I obviously haven’t started motorbike rides with her yet. I have to wait two more years for that.
Sappho has found a very artistic home with a classical musician father and an actor-writer mother. Has she taken to music, drama or dance already? What does family downtime look like?
My daughter is really into art. It’s really interesting because we have children’s books but her favourite ones are by (French painter) Claude Monet, Henri Matisse and Spanish painter Joan Miro. And she’s obsessed with these artists! All of these artists go to Paris at some point in the book. And she goes like “I’m going to be a real artist. I’m going to go to Paris. I’m going to study art.” And we also have some friends down the road here in Goa. One of them is actually the woman (Valeriya Polyanychko) who illustrated my book. She allows Sappho to paint on the walls of her house and Sappho goes nuts there. So. Guy and I have done a few projects with her. Recently, we made an owl together.
You have talked about how regaining a sense of self as a mother, who is equally invested in her child and her work, has been the hardest job. How much of that delicate balance seems achievable now? Or do you still struggle to take time out for yourself?
Recently, I was shooting a film in Portugal. It’s the first time I didn’t travel with Sappho. So, the first ten days were blissful. I was shooting for 12 hours a day and I still had so much time to myself after the shoot. I would do yoga, go to the pool and have a beer and chill with my co-actors. I was like, “Wow, what is this life that I had completely forgotten.” But having said that, after about 12 days, I had this physical pain to get back. It was hard to be away. But now I feel I’m also prioritizing differently. I like the space I’m getting even while being a parent. For example, during her school hours, I’m writing and doing other work like reading and researching stuff that I want to work on. It’s giving me a new shape as a person and I am discovering new sides to myself which is exciting.
Kids born to unmarried parents in India are often treated unkindly in social situations. How can cohabiting parents protect and prepare their children for such eventualities?
I haven’t faced that issue yet, so I haven’t thought about it. But I don’t think there’s anything to hide. The parents we meet are quite progressive. Also, perhaps there’s no need for other parents to know. It’s none of their business whether you’re married or not. In my case, I’m a celebrity so people know. But in a lot of cases, I am sure people just will not say if they’re not married.
Your latest film ‘Goldfish’ stars Deepti Naval as your mother and it focuses on the strained relationship between a mother and daughter. What was it like working on this movie when in real life you had begun your own journey as a new mother?
Even when I was shooting the film, I was so aware because I was playing a daughter even as I was just becoming a mother. And I suddenly had so much more empathy for Deepti’s character. I knew now what my mother went through because I fought like crazy with my mother as a teenager. And I was constantly thinking, will I get to this point with my daughter? I love her to bits, and she loves me to bits right now, but will we get to that point where she says, ‘I hate you, Mom’? So it made me very aware and appreciative of my mother. And yes, I’m totally joyous and happy to have a theatre release after four years.
Is there anything that you would like to add about modern parenting?
My partner and I have very different techniques and parenting styles. Sometimes we get into fights because of that. We have started seeing a child psychologist every once in a while, because it helps us to understand what our child needs and which approach to take. So, I would really recommend that. If you can have someone just to consult — where somebody is able to hear both sides and also understand what the child’s perspective is and basically speaks for the child — then it really helps.
Fenil's Bollywood Talk # 793
5:31 PM
ALL EYES ARE ON JAWAN; BOX OFFICE CONTINUES TO SHINE AS HOLDOVER RELEASES ARE STILL WORKING BIG TIME
The much-awaited film Jawan is releasing next week and the excitement is incredible. Usually before the release of biggies, the box office is dry and theatres are forced to run holdover films as they have no option. But right now, that's not the case.
Last week's release Dream Girl 2 had mixed word of mouth. But it did quite well at the box office. It opened at Rs. 10 crores and thus emerged as Ayushmann Khurrana's biggest opener. The collections jumped to Rs. 13.75 crores and Rs. 15.50 crores on Saturday and Sunday respectively. On Monday, the film earned Rs. 5 crores but on Tuesday, the earnings jumped to Rs. 5.25 crores as the next day was Raksha Bandhan. The Wednesday collections were around Rs. 7.25 crores. Hence, it'll collect Rs. 60 crores in its first week. It remains to be seen if the film can cross the Rs. 100 crores mark. The chances are unlikely. Nevertheless, the purpose is served. The film, made at reasonable costs, is a hit. For Ayushmann Khurrana, this is a much-deserved success since his last 4 films flopped.
Gadar 2 continues to be as strong as ever. Until Wednesday, August 30, it collected around Rs. 469 crores. There's zero competition for this film this week and hence it'll continue to do well. Trade, industry and fans are eagerly waiting to see if it can cross Pathaan's collections of Rs. 515 crores.
OMG 2 is slowing down but still has gas left in its tank. It has collected around Rs. 138 crores and will cross the Rs. 140 crore mark in the coming weekend.
Even the latest regional films like Subhedar (Marathi), Mastaney (Punjabi) and 3 Ekka (Gujarati) attracted viewers in hordes. In short, the box office continues to be healthy.
This Friday will also have multiple releases but have slim chances. Love All, starring Kay Kay Menon and Goldfish, starring Kalki Koechlin and Deepti Naval, are the Hindi releases of the week and have zero buzz. Kushi, starring Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha, has grabbed eyeballs. The original Telugu version might work but the Hindi version will go unnoticed due to limited release and lack of excitement.
As for Hollywood films, only The Equalizer 3 might find some audience. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem has had a decent performance at the box office in North America. In India, it will have a tough time as the films of this franchise have never worked. Golda, lastly, is a niche film meant for a very minuscule section of moviegoers.
Goldfish's director cut down on night shoots so that I could be home at 6 am to feed Sappho-Kalki Koechlin
8:38 AM
Grateful to have found supportive unit as she filmed Goldfish after her maternity break, Kalki rues that the industry often doesn’t consider working mothers’ needs
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 26, 2023)
Imagine walking out of the second season of Made In Heaven, where every character has dubious motives, and going to the set of Goldfish, a mother-daughter story. Kalki Koechlin says Pushan Kripalani’s directorial venture—which revolves around her character growing close to her mother, who grapples with dementia— shows how grief and laughs can co-exist. It helped that Deepti Naval played her on-screen mother, bringing her own experiences to the story.
“Deepti’s mother had dementia. She told me little things, like how her mom would make chai with a lot of sugar and have it. Then she would ask for chai again 10 minutes later because she had forgotten that she has already had it. If Deepti said no to the next cup, she’d be upset. Such stories helped me build a person who has lost her identity and is even more frightened due to it,” says Koechlin, adding, “Deepti is someone I deeply admire.”
Koechlin, who welcomed daughter Sappho in 2020, admits motherhood has given her a new perspective to roles. But returning to work after her maternity break wasn’t easy. The actor says that she took Sappho to the London shoot.
“The night before the shoot, she was holding on to me tight and refusing to sleep. So, I sat her down like an adult and said, ‘Sappho, I want to do this film. It is important to me. I will be here for you every morning and night.’ She went to sleep immediately, and the next morning she asked for her nanny. Sometimes, when you [share] your vulnerability, children feel involved.”
Even as she is grateful to the film’s unit for building a supportive environment for her, the actor rues that the Hindi film industry hardly considers the needs of working mothers.
“There is not enough support in the industry. One is left at the mercy of kind people on set. In terms of laws, there is a long way to go. I have had experiences when the baby was with me on the set, but people were wanting to do [outfit] trials past 10-11 pm. You want to keep working, but you also have the role of being a mother. I lucked out on Goldfish, where the producers arranged for a nanny in the United Kingdom. The director cut down on night shoots so that I could be home at 6 am to feed her.”
I chose to slow down since I’ve had my daughter-Kalki Koechlin
8:13 AM
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; May 14, 2023)
Known for her unconventional choices as an actor, Kalki Koechlin has a way of making each character and their quirks her own. Despite her passion towards the craft, she hasn’t allowed it to alienate her from day-to-day life. Having a healthy work-life balance is a priority for the actress, who now lives in Goa with her daughter Sappho and partner Guy Hershberg. Kalki frequently visits Mumbai for work and during one such visit, tells us what it’s like to be a mother, her shift to Goa and why environmental conservation is no longer a matter of choice. Excerpts...
You’ve moved to Goa and keep coming down to Mumbai for work. What led to this shift?
The primary reason was having a child and realizing that we don’t have a park around for kids to play. That outdoor space was missing. It’s hard to find spaces for children in cities unless you go to a shopping mall. I wanted my daughter (Sappho) to have more exposure to nature instead of pollution.
I acknowledge the fact that we are privileged enough to have both lifestyles. I can come and work in Mumbai but still live in Goa. This shift has done a lot of good for us adults as well.
Has the journey of motherhood changed your outlook towards life and helped you evolve as a person? Tell us more about Sappho.
She’s a fun kid. She speaks four languages – Hebrew, Hindi, French and English – and she chats comfortably in all four. It’s so entertaining. Every day, I want to frame at least one of her sentences and put it up on the wall. She comes up with such unique lines. When you multitask, you tend to miss out on things. Motherhood has taught me to be more organized. It has taught me to use an Excel spreadsheet. I have learnt that if you want something in life, you need to seek it in advance and list it down. Planning has now become a huge part of my life. I jot down things and months when I want to be at home, and when I will be at work.
Are you a lot calmer today?
I do think that I have learnt patience through motherhood. I have understood that certain things do take time, like even getting your body back to normal after giving birth. The concept of quickly returning to your old self is not there. You must let your body take its own sweet time to heal. I have more patience today, but my life is way more hectic.
How’s life in Goa?
I live in a very quiet jungle sort of area in North Goa near Colvale. It’s away from the hustle and bustle of tourist attractions. We have a big garden comprising papaya, tomato and lemon trees, passion fruit and basil plants. It shows our kid where our food actually comes from, and that it doesn’t magically appear in the supermarket. I want her to know that. Our food is sourced from local farmers, so we eat mostly what is in season.
This was also my attempt to go green. We have a big compost area at the back of the garden. All the cleaning products in my house, be it laundry cleaner or dishwasher are non-chemical and not harmful to the environment. I have switched to everything herbal.
How did you meet your partner Guy Hershberg (an Israeli musician) and what has it been like for him to move to Goa?
I had gone on a girls’ trip to Israel. He went to a music school with one of my friends and so he was one of our contacts when we went there. That’s how we met. We both are extremely resilient. He is like a cactus that can survive in a desert. He still works a lot in Israel, so he is also on the road a lot. He enjoys being in Goa as it is calm and beautiful. I don’t think he was a fan of Mumbai. Since he is a musician, he can work from home when he’s composing. The piano is our background in life. We wake up to Bach’s music for breakfast. I can’t play the piano at all, he does.
Be it shuttling between Mumbai and Goa for work or choice of roles, you always follow your instincts, even if it means taking a route that is unusual, even difficult maybe. What drives you to be this way?
When I am unhappy or when I see things not going according to my instinct, I have a big knot in my stomach that I can’t ignore. I have to act upon it. It’s visceral. I have to feel healthy inside out to function as a person. I don’t think money and career are everything. Life is meant to learn. When you don’t learn you stagnate. My work pace has slowed down a bit since I now have a daughter and we live in Goa. It’s a choice I have made. I don’t want to be as busy as I used to be. I want to strike a healthy work-life balance. I am doing a lot of writing, theatre, and other performances that keep me active and satiate my creative needs. It’s important for me to be creative in some form or the other. This all happens from Goa, and I come over to Mumbai whenever I have shoots. Goldfish with Deepti Naval should release soon and Kho Gaye Hum Kahan will see me in a romantic relationship with Siddhant Chaturvedi.
I wish I had not done half the films I did-Deepti Naval
8:19 AM
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; December 13, 2022)
Deepti Naval, whose film Goldfish has been doing the rounds of many film festivals, doesn’t believe in mincing her words. Ask if she wishes she hadn’t done some films in her three-decade-long career and the veteran actor says, “Absolutely. I wish I had not done half the films I did. Out of the almost 100, l can be proud of about 35 films I did. The rest, I’d like to write them off,” exclaims the veteran.
The 70-year-old, who has been a part of acclaimed films such as Chashme Buddoor (1981) and Mirch Masala (1987), among others, says that like today, female actors would get good roles in the past, too. “I picked some strong characters. I started off with sweet, girl-next-door roles. Then, for almost six months, I didn’t sign any film, as I was getting similar roles. Makers wanted me to play the Chashme Buddoor kind of girl. But I wanted to play a stronger woman. Then I started signing films like Ankahee (1985) and Main Zinda Hoon (1988),” says Naval, who co-stars with actor Kalki Koechlin in Goldfish, which was screened at the 53rd International Film Festival of India, in Goa, recently.
She goes on to explain how professional lives of yesteryear female actors suffered after marriage: “If an actress got married, her career was over. Today, it doesn’t work like that, thank God for that. Many people paid the price for it (getting married). I remember, as soon as I married Prakash (Jha, filmmaker and ex-husband), I had no work at all.”
COVID-19: Bollywood actors Priyanka Chopra, Aftab Shivdasani stranded in the UK
8:29 AM
Priyanka Chopra and Aftab Shivdasani are among those who may have to stay put in the UK for the near future; productions that were to be shot there also put on hold
Mohar Basu, Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; December 24, 2020)
The United Kingdom imposed a Tier 4 lockdown from Sunday to curb the spread of a new variant of Coronavirus, triggering a domino effect in countries and across industries. Among those finding themselves stranded amid the lockdown is actor Priyanka Chopra-Jonas.
Chopra was filming the Hollywood romantic drama, Text For You, with Sam Heughan in London since November 29. While the schedule of the Jim Strouse-directed venture was to run well into January, it is now heard that the production team is making arrangements for a quick return to the US, in the wake of the travel restrictions that have been imposed.
"The producers have halted production at the moment. Their top priority is to ensure the safe return of the cast and crew. Special permissions are being sought to travel back to the US, but the procedure may take longer than usual with the lockdown rules becoming stricter than ever before. It is possible that Priyanka and the rest of the unit will have to stay put in the UK for a while," says a source.
The move has also impacted the itinerary of Aftab Shivdasani, who had returned to wife Nin and daughter Nevaeh in England earlier this month. After spending the holidays with his family, the actor was to fly down to India to begin work on his home production. "We are in the process of finalising the dates for the project. It won't roll before January though," he says.
Even as he rues that it will be a muted Christmas in the wake of recent developments, the actor believes it is better to be safe than sorry. "We weren't going to public places anyway because our daughter is young. We didn't want to take a risk." Sonam Kapoor aka Sonam K Ahuja, who has been stationed in the British capital with husband Anand Ahuja since mid-July, will spend the holiday season there.
Closer home, Bollywood films that were to be shot in the UK have been put on hold till the situation improves. Come January, Neena Gupta and Kalki Koechlin-starrer Goldfish was to go on floors in the Queen's City. Gupta says she dialled director Pushan Kripalani's number as soon as the latest round of curfew was announced, to determine the way forward. "We were supposed to start shooting by January-end. Now, the makers are waiting for things to settle down. Unless the situation stabilises, we will stay put," she says. Rumours suggest that a major Bollywood production was to roll in London next month.
Neena Gupta and Kalki Koechlin to team up for Goldfish
8:03 AM
Neena Gupta, Kalki Koechlin team up for international film Goldfish that creates awareness about mental health
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; December 3, 2020)
Director Pushan Kripalani had developed the script of Goldfish with Neena Gupta and Kalki Koechlin in mind. His wish has been granted - the two actors are set to share screen space for the first time in the British-American project, which is bankrolled by Splendid Films USA.
Having enjoyed her earlier collaboration with Kripalani on The Threshold (2015), Gupta says giving her nod to his next was a no-brainer. "When he came to me with this script, I was excited as well as nervous, as it's a challenging role. Pushan gives complete creative freedom to his actors," says the senior artiste, who plays Koechlin's mom in the mother-daughter drama.
Set in London, the movie revolves around Koechlin's character who returns home to her estranged mother, who is showing early signs of dementia. The two women rediscover their relationship in this story of memories, mental health and identity.
Koechlin says Kripalani's first film had impacted her deeply. "Neena ji is an amazing actor. Also, I have worked closely with Arghya [Lahiri], who has co-written the script, during my theatre days. So it'll be a happy union of people from different walks of life," says the actor. The drama is expected to go on floors in the UK early next year.
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