Actor Kalki Koechlin barely comes across as the quintessential Bollywood beauty, but her hatke looks only seem to complement the hatke roles that she plays on screen.
Known for her stark portrayals in offbeat cinema, the actress’s finally taken a plunge in mainstream Bollywood with surprising ease and is gearing up for Zoya Akhtar’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
But Kalki insists that she never looked at offbeat cinema as a stepping stone to mainstream cinema. “I don’t see my move to mainstream Bollywood as an evolution. For me all that matters is good cinema, no matter what the banner, no matter who the stars. It’s not a ‘The End’ to indie films or theatre,” she says.
Comparing the two however, she points out that “It does feel like a different ball game altogether, but is just as much fun. Bollywood does spoil you.”
Explaining further she says, “I’ve been an actress so far, but here they make you feel like a star,” she flashes an impish smile, adding that what made the jump easier in the first place is the fact that ‘mainstream filmmakers are not afraid to experiment and are adopting a realistic approach to their stories.’
“Also Zoya has a different sensibility and I think we connected there. Plus Hrithik (Roshan), Farhan (Akhtar) and Katrina (Kaif) are great guys to work with,” she adds.
Kalki’s also aware that her phirang looks might limit her options here, but she’s unperturbed. “I may not fit the heroine mould, but I think that there’s no mould today anyways. It’s all about characters and not hero-heroines.” Kalki’s also working on improving her Hindi further and is polishing her dancing skills too. “I’m learning to dance absolute Bollywood style. I figure that I might as well go the whole yard now that I’m doing full-on Bollywood films,” says Kalki, who’s also done her first item number in Happy Feet.
Meanwhile, Kalki,who’s signed for Shaitaan, is also awaiting the release of her internationally acclaimed film That Girl in Yellow Boots here. “It’s a hard-hitting film, but that’s Anurag,” she smiles.
Talking about her film-maker beau, she rubbishes off rumours of their alleged lovers tiff. “I don’t know where they come from, but we both are going strong,” she sets the record straight.
a_shetye@dnaindia.net
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