Kalki Koechlin: My Role In Shanghai Is Not Like Vidya Balan’s In Kahaani

Kalki Koechlin is an actress who has come a long way from being Chandramukhi in Dev D to Shalini Sahay in Shanghai. She is one of the few actresses in today’s time who can fit into different roles and essay that character effortlessly. In her upcoming film Shanghai which is based on a political backdrop, she plays a strong and a modern woman who goes after what she wants. Here is presenting Kalki who is happy to talk about the film and more.

The film has created some good buzz ever since its First Look came out. Can we expect something special in the offering here?
I think Dibakar (Banerjee) is a special director. I have always loved his films and he always tries to do something out of the box and pushes boundaries when compared to what you normally see in Bollywood. He breaks away from the stereotypical images created for actors. It would be a revelation to see Emraan Hashmi and Abhay Deol in the movie; they are way off from the characters they have portrayed till now in their films. They are the surprise package in the movie. Dibakar makes everything different and his stories are hard hitting and true to life. Though this movie is an adaptation of the book called Z, it is still true to our country and is a great adaptation with Indian context in mind.

I remember Dibakar telling me that you play a woman out to seek revenge. Do you want to elaborate that? Can one expect comparisons with Vidya Balan from Kahaani?
Vidya Balan? Not really, my role is not like hers! Shanghai is not a story about one woman’s revenge, like it was in case of Kahaani. It is about each and every character finding their little gain and place. My character is interested in revenge because she cares about a man who lands in trouble. Abhay is this stubborn officer who is just trying to prove his point and the story revolves around that. And then there is Emraan who is an opportunist and just wants to get some money out of anything and everything.

Actually everyone thought that you were paired opposite Emraan in the film and hence there was a surprise when stories started emerging around your pairing with Prosenjit Chatterjee instead.
When the script was narrated to me I was not aware of the other cast. Also that never influenced my decision. This is not a love story and I am not paired opposite anyone. Though there is a kiss that Prosenjit and my character share in the movie, there is no backdrop of a love story. Once you see the film, you would realise that there is no place for love as the movie deals with altogether different subject. My character has a crush on Prosenjit and is mesmerised by him; it is in a weak vulnerable moment that the kiss happens but there is nothing more to it.

With Abhay, this is your third film together after Dev D and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. I am sure there must have been an enhanced comfort level here.
Obviously we know each other very well. However in this movie we do not share much screen space. There is only one scene in the court where we face each other.

The film is creating good hype for itself. After all, Emraan is on a roll, Abhay and you have also had good successes behind you. Feels great to be finding yourself in a zone where even offbeat films are doing so commercially well?
Well yeah, it really helps when your films are doing well. Fact is that Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was a good film and it did wonders for me and Abhay. Emraan’s films are released so frequently and they all do well and succeed. We all are doing good and that helps the film and the director. Dibakar deserves a hit film as he has now come a long way. Hopefully all of us will contribute to that.