Debutante actress, Kalki Koechlin plays the new age Chandramukhi aka Chanda in Anurag Kashyap's Dev D, a modern take on the classic Devdas. Her Chanda defies all conventions in her revamped avatar.

"She is not the quintessential Bollywood nautch girl but a young girl from Delhi who gets into prostitution. I must confess it was very challenging and interesting for me to play such a character and get into her emotions. The film shows what influences such young girls to take the wrong plunge, " Kalki reveals.

Kalki had been dabbling in theatre earlier and is now very excited for her big screen debut. "I'm glad to have grabbed such a role. Considering from where I come from, it was difficult for me to get a conventional role. Firstly, my looks are not very Indian, even my Hindi is not good." admits Kalki.

So that is way alternate cinema was a good option for me to get a break in films. I have seen Anurag's previous films. I feel acting is an art that is very well explored in his films, " admits the debutant actor.

And the portrayal has not been accomplished without some solid research, as she recalls, "Anurag gave me a lot of films based on prostitution, sex trade and on women facing challenges.

I saw a Spanish film called My Treasure, quite a few times. He also bought me a book called A Woman Who Runs with the Wolves. All these references helped me get a better perspective on my character."

Talking about the film, Kalki informs, "Dev D is completely devoid of the grandness. This film is very real and has its own charm. One can call it a mature film catering to urban society.

It deals with a lot of social taboos like drugs, sex and clash of cultures. I am sure comparisons with the previous Devdas are obvious but both the films. Both the films are very different from each other. Dev D is a very contemporary take on the same concept. Infact, Anurag very specifically instructed me not to pick up Madhuri's nuances as Chandramukhi."