Naseeruddin constantly surprises us: Kalki

Kalki Koechlin said that her Waiting co-star Naseeruddin Shah constantly surprises everyone with his performance and even argues for the honesty of his character.

“Naseer is amazing; he is obviously a very talented actor. He is also extremely spontaneous; he’s constantly surprising us. He is also someone who really argues for the truth and honesty of a character, tooth and nail; it’s amazing,” Kalki said in an interview.

The two have worked together in Anurag Kashyap’s That Girl in Yellow Boots, and in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara in which they didn’t have any scenes together. 

About her character, she said, “Slightly entitled, bratty girl, fast-paced social media advertising girl and she has to come to terms with reality when her husband goes into coma. Suddenly none of the things she placed so much importance on matter, and she needs to face herself, she needs to internalise herself and find strength within herself.” “Me and Anu (Menon) worked closely to get Tara right. A lot of it was trying to find the lingo, how she would talk, like she’s always talking about Facebook and Twitter and is always mixing her English and Hindi up. Then the kajal and the dark hair.”

The film narrates the story of the characters of Kalki and Shah, who develop a bond in the waiting room of a hospital for their spouses to spring back to life from the state of coma.

About the challenges she faced, Kalki said, “There weren’t too many challenges actually; it was a really good shoot. We had a good pace; we did the entire film in one schedule, in 28 days. What I found hard were the emotional scenes. There are scenes you can’t prepare for; you just have to jump right into it. But overall, I enjoyed the experience.”

“It’s a film that really pulls the heart strings; a film that appreciates the preciousness of life. Sometimes we get into such a daily routine and fast-paced life that we forget to realise that we are alive. And this film reminds you of that,” she added. 

Waiting, directed by Anu Menon, also stars Rajat Kapoor and Suhasini Maniratnam.