Trailer Watch: Kalki Koechlin promises a brilliant performance in 'Margarita, with a Straw'

Kalki Koechlin will essay the part of a rebellious young writer who is affected by cerebral palsy in the film Margarita, with a Straw. The actress has played several unconventional roles throughout her career, but this one seems to top them all. In the movie, Koechlin plays Laila, a young girl who is stricken by cerebral palsy. The film explores her journey as a writer and maps her move from Delhi University to New York University. As seen in the trailer, the film also deals with the taboos and messes that arise after Laila explores her sexuality and begins a lesbian relationship with a fiery young student activist called Khanum. (Sayani Gupta) Margarita, with a Straw examines one woman’s steady belief in rising above her disabilities to achieve her dreams. Granted, Koechlin’s played complex characters before in both Dev D and That Girl in Yellow Boots, but Margarita… signals the actress’s desire to move into an acting league of a different class. [caption id=“attachment_1697591” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Courtesy: Youtube[/caption] Our only hope is that the film does not devolve into overt sentimentalization. Koechlin’s hammy actions and the melodramatic background music that accompanies the trailer are not good omens. Many films with such inspiring premises have been ruined due to the filmmakers’ desire to force out phlegm inducing sobs from the audience. Hopefully, the film will not go down The Fault in Our Stars path. Margarita, with a Straw is one of the two Indian films that will make their world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The other is Megha Ramaswamy’s Newborns, a documentary about acid- attack survivors. Expectations are unusually high for Shonali Bose, the director of Margarita, as her debut film Amu (with Konkona Sen Sharma) also played at TIFF in 2005 and went on to garner positive reviews from critics. Margarita is Bose’s third feature film and draws from her own experiences and the life of her sister, who also suffered from cerebral palsy. The plot of the film germinated from a conversation that the director had with her sister, Malini. Bose had asked Malini what she wanted for her 40th birthday and was stunned when her sister said that she wanted to have sex. This helped Bose to create the character of Laila who yearns to discover her sexuality and break free from the bonds of her disability. The film was developed at the first Sundance Lab in India and Bose received a $10,000 cash award from the Sundance Institute and Mahindra Global Film-making for her script. One questions remain while watching the trailer: Will Koechlin live up to expectations and deliver an impassioned performance? The films also features performances from Revathy and Hussain Dalal. It has been scored by Mickey McCleary and its lyrics are penned by Prasoon Joshi. You can watch the trailer here: