In Conversation With Kalki Koechlin | Islands of Contentment | Pandemic Play & more
We spoke with Bollywood actress Kalki Koechlin about her upcoming virtual show “Island of Contentment.”
Co-produced by Hypokrit Productions and The Tank, Dipti Bramhandkar’s Islands of Contentment is a moving meditation comprised of thirteen monologues. An elegy to the (dis)harmony of romantic relationships, each piece invites us into intimate, poignant, and hilarious interactions with significant others in the form of modern-day confessionals. Thirteen characters reflect on moments that feel strangely familiar: the break-up dream, the plight of the nice guy, the ex who unexpectedly shows up, and even a baking fetish. No one writes love songs about this stuff.
“Islands of Contentment” is a one-of-a-kind virtual show that transports small audiences to the characters through the power of Zoom. Each performance is unique to the audience, the actors, and which order the audience chooses.
Check out what she had to say about the show, COVID, hopes for life after the pandemic, and much more!
Who would have imagined that a day would come when the audience wouldn’t need to venture out to Prithvi theatre in Juhu or Mandi House in Delhi, Westend in London, or Broadway in New York but just sit in the comfort of their homes and watch their favorite actors perform on Zoom?
“Islands of Contentment” is a unique virtual play that is getting performed on a platform largely identified for virtual meetings and classes in post-pandemic reality. It brings together a stellar ensemble cast of South Asian actors from around the globe, boasting some of the biggest names in the Indian film industry and Indian diaspora actors in New York City, including Kalki Koechlin, Suraj Sharma, Vinay Pathak, Ajay Naidu, Sumeet Vyas, Nina Davuluri and Maanvi Gagroo.
Arpita Mukherjee (artistic director, Hypokrit/ also the co-writer of Gulmohar and Mira’s “Monsoon Wedding Musical”) and The Tank — two of the most innovative and celebrated downtown theatre companies in NYC — are producing and presenting this, along with Rahul Chittella’s independent company, Autonomous Works. Mukherjee co-directs with Hannah Wolf and the selected filmed monologues have been directed by Chitella.
