Kalki Koechlin picks up the threads of Bengali

Bollywood actress Kalki Koechlin, who is playing the role of an Anglo-Indian woman in Konkona Sen Sharma's directorial debut, has picked up a little bit of Bengali language and songs for her role.

 “A Death InThe Gunj”, Konkona's directorial project starring Kalki, Ranvir Shorey, Vikrant Massey, Om Puri and Tanuja, depicts the journey of five individuals who are on a holiday.

"I had to learn some Bengali for the film as I am playing a woman who is half Bengali. There are some Bengali words here and there, that are in the film," according to the 32-year-old national film award winning actress.

The film was shot extensively in McCluskieganj town, near Ranchi, which was once famous for its sizeable Anglo-Indian community but whose numbers have gradually dwindled after the sixties.

"There is one scene in the film where everyone is singing the famous Bengali song 'Dhitang dhitang bole'. I had to learn it by heart. It was fun and interesting. Bengal has such a rich culture," Kalki said.

Born to French parents in  the southern Indian state of Puducherry, a former French colony, the actress who is playing a 34-year-old woman called Mitali, said she could relate to her character because of the French connect.

The shooting of the film is over and it is now on the editing table.

Kalki, who has done critically-acclaimed films like “Margarita with a Straw”, “Dev D”, “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” and “That Girl in Yellow Boots”, was recently busy in promoting her latest film “Waiting” alongside Naseeruddin Shah.