'DEV D FELT LIKE A BIG EXAM AS I WAS STILL LEARNING HINDI'

Released in February 2009, the film slowly acquired a cult status

- BEDIKA

Actress Kalki Koechlin said she remembers being highly stressed about her Hindi while working on Anurag Kashyap-directed 'Dev D', which was released in February 2009 and slowly acquired a cult status.

'Dev D', starring Abhay Deol in the title role, is a modern take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's much-adapted Bengali novel 'Devdas'. It also starred Mahie Gill in the role of Paro.

It was Koechlin's first leading role in Hindi cinema and the actress was still learning Hindi when she landed the role of Leni/Chanda in the movie.

"My memory is of being highly stressed about Hindi. It was when I was still learning Hindi and I got a special tutor for learning all the dialogues. I didn't understand some of the dialogues, but I would be able to say them in my sleep. I was just mugging them. So, it felt like a big exam," Koechlin told PTI in an interview.

The film, which completed 15 years of its release on February 6, was the first major hit for Kashyap and all its actors earned critical acclaim for their roles. The soundtrack is considered one of the best works of Amit Trivedi's career to date with hits like 'Emosanal Attyachaar', 'Paayaliya', 'Nayan Tarse', 'Pardesi', and 'Aankh Micholi'.