Kalki Koechlin gets her big break

Actor Kalki Koechlin was hailed as the Next Big Thing in Bollywood after her debut movie, Anurag Kashyap’s Dev.D.

Her refreshingly simple yet effective acting style managed to bring out the fragility and vulnerability of a woman forced into prostitution.

Though awards and accolades followed, Kalki didn’t get a single big offer for almost a year till now.

However, now the floodgates have opened and the actor has been roped in for a couple of big movies — Zoya Akhtar’s next starring Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol, and a Sanjay Leela Bhansali project starring Prateik Babbar.

She says, “The wait to get a nice project was really long. I spent around a year doing plays and even writing them. I had started to wonder when I was going to get a nice movie. A little strange feeling was creeping in but then Zoya’s film happened. It’s a big jump for me as it’s a commercial movie. That also meant I was not being typecast as an actor.”

The actor of French descent is working really hard on her Hindi and is taking diction classes.

Talking about her USP, Kalki says, “I don’t look Indian, so I always thought that could be a barrier for me in Bollywood. I thought I might be approached with only certain roles. I’m working hard on my Hindi and my USP is that I’m extremely sincere to what I take on and approach my roles honestly.”

She adds, “ My sex appeal is in my lips and smile. I think I have this mixture of innocence with an interesting smile which works.”

Kalki, who is living in with Anurag, says, “There is no pressure from my family to marry. We (she and Anurag) are very happy being with each other. I feel creatively pushed when I’m with him. I love Anurag’s transparency and he has very honest eyes. His unintended sense of humour makes me laugh all the time. He keeps me grounded too with his calmness.”