![\"Kalki](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-132430229,imgsize-237811,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/kalki-koechlin.jpg\" "\\"Kalki")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nTravel cult classic Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) turned 15 yesterday, and Natasha Arora, the fianc\u00e9e audiences loved to argue about, continues to spark conversations. Kalki Koechlin<\/a> doesn\u2019t defend the character\u2019s flaws. Instead, she believes those very imperfections made Natasha memorable. She shares, \u201cI don\u2019t think she is a perfect character. I do think she is a problematic character,\u201d adding, \u201cNatasha absolutely stands up for herself. If she\u2019s not okay with something, she says so and decides not to be with her fianc\u00e9. So, absolutely, she takes control of her life. That\u2019s what makes the character lovable. Even though she\u2019s quite insane, you understand where she\u2019s coming from.\u201dBeyond the character\u2019s personality, Kalki admits Natasha also left an imprint on her personal style. She says, \u201cWhat I took from Natasha is my sense of style. She was always outfitted so well. I felt good in those clothes. There\u2019s a certain personality… your spine straightens up when you wear certain clothes.\u201dIf Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara were made today…<\/span>On the topic of why Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara has endured, Kalki reaches for a broader thesis about friendship on screen. She says, \u201cI think a lot of films about friendship really stand the test of time. There\u2019s something about friendship that really sticks because it\u2019s what carries us through all the ups and downs. You marry, divorce, have a child, lose a parent… and when all these things happen, only a few friends see you through all those stages. Your friends are almost like a mirror to the person you become.\u201dAsked what a present-day version of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara might explore, she says, \u201cMaybe if it were made today, it would be about three girlfriends going on a trip, and the boys are having trouble with control.\u201d\u2018In Spain, we could just be ourselves\u2019<\/span>Apart from Natasha, what has stayed with Kalki are memories of shooting in Spain and the anonymity it offered even actors of the scale of Hrithik Roshan<\/a> and Katrina Kaif<\/a>. She recalls, \u201cWe had these huge film stars like Hrithik and Katrina in a completely foreign country. When we do promotions here, or when we shoot or go for a screening, there is security, crowds shouting their names and people asking for selfies. But in Spain, it was different. We walked on the cobbled streets and nobody bothered us. Everybody sat around the water fountain in the middle of the city. It was wonderful that we could simply be ourselves and not worry about the personas around us.\u201d Describing Spain as a leveller for the entire team, she adds, \u201cIt made everybody more accessible to each other. We weren\u2019t hiding in our vanity vans, which tends to be the case when we\u2019re shooting in Mumbai or elsewhere in India.\u201d<\/p>\n Fifteen years on, Natasha Arora remains one of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara\u2019s most talked-about characters. Kalki Koechlin believes Natasha\u2019s flaws, honesty and refusal to stay in a relationship that no longer worked made her memorable, proving that imperfect characters often leave the strongest impression on audiences.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u2018There is a comfort in having women around when doing an intimate scene\u2019<\/span>One of the things Kalki admires most about Zoya Akhtar\u2019s filmmaking is her ability to find humour in life\u2019s awkward moments, even amid emotional turmoil. She says, \u201cZoya is particularly good at comic timing and at writing it into the script itself. She has a knack for finding those awkward moments and building them into the story. So, even in a serious scene, there\u2019s always a touch of awkward comedy, and I really love that. The characters may be dealing with serious problems, but sometimes humour wins. Life is also like that. It\u2019s never just one emotion. You\u2019re not only sad; you\u2019re also happy, angry and frustrated.\u201d<\/div>\n![\"Kalki](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-132430284\/kalki-koechlin-in-a-still-from-zindagi-na-milegi-dobara.jpg\" "\\"Fifteen")
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