New Delhi: Bee stung lips – not a pout; a refreshing unique face – not quintessentially pretty but armed with an acting prowess that has made Bollywood sit up and pay attention to ‘That Girl in the Yellow Boots’.
Born in 1983, Kalki turns 29 on January 9th and with quite a few critically acclaimed performances under her belt – this stunner has just begun her long walk in Bollywood. Initially a theatre actress, Kalki got her break in Bollywood as the spunky prostitute Chanda in Anurag Kashyap’s killer rendition of ‘Devdas’ – ‘Dev D’. Kalki morphed easily from a cultured, posh school girl with a rebellious streak in to a prostitute in Paharganj who seduces her clients in English, Tamil and French. For this multilingual actress – it was almost cake walk.
No dance numbers, no skin show – just plain bold acting made Bollywood notice this unconventional face. Though it is almost a given that Kalki would never be one of the glam-dolls that Bollywood likes putting on its shelves – she is one actress who can be counted on to star in the most daring, in-your-face roles with the delightful abandon of an adolescent – one you possibly cannot hate. ‘Shaitan’, ‘That Girl in the Yellow Boots’, ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, ‘My Friend Pinto’ and counting – Kalki has taken the dip in to commercial and alternative cinema with equal ease. The best part is – there’s no knowing what this actress is going to come up with next. From playing the role of a girl in search of her father who enjoys his ‘happy endings’ from her to a spoiled rich brat or even a wannabe dancer – it seems like Kalki has challenged Bollywood to throw the odds (and evens) at her and she will take them all on.
Looking at her personal life so far – Kalki married Anurag Kashyap in a private ceremony in 2011. And though Kashyap has directed Kalki in two of her path-breaking performances so far – the rumours have it that he will not work with his ‘wife’ anymore. Well – Bollywood is surely hoping this story is not true!
For the audience – Kalki is real, almost to the point of believing that the roles she plays are not roles at all – perhaps shades of her. She could well be Leni (Kalki’s name in ‘Dev D’ before she turns in to Chanda’) or even Maggie (My Friend Pinto) in reality. Authenticity is exactly what Kalki brings to the screen and so perfectly. So while Bollywood cannot swallow this unconventional/alternative pill – they have learned that they possibly cannot ignore or type cast this cracker of an actress.
We wish Kalki a brilliant birthday and here’s waiting for ‘Shanghai’ that hits screens in this year.
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