Kalki Speaks To  Subhash K Jha On  Celebrating Nakedness

You have posted an aesthetic nude self-portrait on Instagram to “celebrate nakedness”.  Could you explain what that means to you?

I don’t really see anything taboo about nudity.The photo is part of my work .This one happens to be from the perspective of the female gaze and I think nudity ought to be celebrated without the person necessarily being sexualised or objectified.

Nudity is  invariably used for titillation in any Hindi cinema. And that too veiled nudity  where wet clothes are the precursors to wet dreams. Do you agree with me?

Sometimes. But not more than Hollywood or anywhere else.

Do you see sexual repression as a major factor contributing to  crime against women and  children?

Of course. Sexuality is a part of adult life and should be explained properly to adolescents, so they can be responsible about it.

How far  would you go on screen if nudity is required?

My film Margarita With A Straw has  answered that.

Do you see the censor board as counter-productive to sexual freedom?

No ,I see the censor board is acting as a censor board rather than a certification board which is the official title, and what we need is certification not censorship.

Do you feel the replacement of  Pahlaj Nihalani by Prasoon Joshi as the censor chief will change the way  the government looks and judges cinema?

We will see.

Would crime be reduced in society if our cinema  became  less prudish?

I think it’s all of society’s responsibility to be less prudish, not just cinema.

Moving away, your next release Jia & Jia sees you playing an outgoing extrovert with a refreshing lack of inhibitions. How much of your own personality and thoughts is projected  into the character.

Jia is madder than me for sure! Also she speaks Hindi properly unlike me.  Not to many ‘chick flick’ are made in Bollywood.

 Do you approve  of that term, and genre?

I love chick flicks myself. Anything with Meg Ryan makes me happy.

Finally, you ended your marriage a few years ago.Would you like to be married again?

No I don’t think so.