Starry Duet

She is an actress, he is a film director; they meet on the sets and drive off into a warm sunset. It is not a new  theme for a romantic story. But when Kalki Koechlin and Anurag Kashyap start talking about theirs, the sparks  fly, the gazes flirt, the touch communicates deep meaning, finds Vandana Rana.

From HemaMalini – Dharmendra and Sridevi – BoneyKapoor to KiranRao – Aamir Khan, Bollywood has seen many reel romances turn into real-life love tales. From partners at work, they end up partners in life, and audiences are enraptured. Adding to the glorified legend of the star and the director, KalkiKoechlin and AnuragKashyap tied the nuptial knot last year after a live-in relationship that left many scandalised and many others rather envious.

They met on the sets of Dev D when the spark of romance was first lit. Within six months, they decided to live together. There was no ‘courtship period’ nor did they date in the conventional sense. “I just went to her house, picked up all her bags, and said, ‘We are living together.’ That’s it,” says Anurag, sharing a tender glance with soul-mateKalki. The lovey-dovey couple – who have been remarkably open about their relationship in an industry that revels in keeping things under wraps -– believe that love is a feeling you cannot gauge or predict. “Actually love is quite natural and organic, bas hojatahai (it just happens)…” shares Anurag, while Kalki finishes his sentence, “You know when it happens.”

It was Anurag – eleven years Kalki’s senior – who eventually touched upon the subject of marriage. “He proposed every day, and one fine day I said yes,” says Kalki with the hint of a smirk. The couple got married under a hundred-year-old mango tree in the southern hill town of Ooty where Kalki was born to French parents twenty-eight years ago. The wedding was carried out according to traditional Tamil ceremony, and the celebrations extended to a party later. “We are a Disney movie, Beauty and The Beast,” jokes Anurag. To make the wedding even more memorable, Kalki wrote, composed and sang a Tamil English rap song for him. As he recounts the story, Anurag quips, “If she posts that song on Facebook, it will be a bigger viral hit than Kolaveri di,” and Kalki joins him in a cackle.

Indeed, it is humour that has helped seal this couple’s bond. Anurag, who grew up in Benaras and who has a ten-year-old daughter from his first marriage to film editor Aarti Bajaj, often amuses Kalki with his droll antics. Once, on holiday, they got into a fight. Amidst the maelstrom of arguments, Anurag said “...don’t vallo (wallow) in your sorrow,” and Kalki burst into laughter. These little episodes have kept their married life sparkling fresh, and even though they don’t expressly proclaim that they are a romantic couple, it is evident in the way he teases her and makes her laugh, the way she cleanses his spectacles and caringly sets his hair.

 They tell ATELIER they don’t have too much time to spend together and sometimes find it hard to believe they are married. But whatever time they do get, they believe in enjoying each moment of togetherness with love. “We don’t meet for months and perhaps that is why we look very much in love when we do meet,” suggests Kalki.

Work has been an instrumental part of their relationship, but they insist they keep their personal and professional lives separate while on the sets. Their films together include Dev D, Shaitan and That Girl in Yellow Boots, but as a rule, they don’t talk about domestic matters while at work. “Sometimes, we don’t even talk to each other while we are working,” shares Kalki, who co-wrote their latest release That Girl in Yellow Boots with Anurag. But, on the other hand, the couple do feel that their workaffairs disturb their private life at times. Anurag, who has made a career of intense, unconventional and even disturbing films, shares, “Professional incidents and events pour into our personal spaces; it depends on the kind of film we are doing.” When asked about their future projects together, he mockingly complains, “We were working together, but now she is busy working with other directors. She has no time for me.”   

Kalki, who studied drama and theatre at Goldsmith’s University of London and also worked with theatre company before moving to India, knows Anurag as a director first and then as a life partner. She loves the way he works: “He is very masti on sets, all chilled out. But he is nightmare to all his assistant directors, since he changes his mind within seconds,” reveals Kalki, grinning. But she admires that he gives a free hand and a comfort zone to his actors.

Hindi is a topic of contention. Kalki, who is well-versed with Tamil and French, “talks in Hindi with our driver, cook and my parents but not with me,” says Anurag wryly. But when it is about films and projects, she makes sure that language doesn’t come in her way. “I work with a tutor on my Hindi before any project. But I think Anurag needs Hindi classes more than me,” quips Kalki in return.

 

Never coy about their relationship, the cosycouple once again get into a little love fight when we ask them who is the more romantic of the two. “Kalki,” says Anurag, and she responds, “No, it’s Anurag!” It’s probably both.