'How Can You Be An Actor?': Kalki Koechlin Recalls Feeling 'Ugly' After Dev D Due To Hurtful Comments About Her Teeth

'How Can You Be An Actor?': Kalki Koechlin Recalls Feeling 'Ugly' After Dev D Due To Hurtful Comments About Her Teeth

Actress Kalki Koechlin, who made her Bollywood debut with Dev D (2009), recalled feeling 'ugly' early in her career due to harsh scrutiny. The 41-year-old actress said, "There were times I’d feel so ugly just because someone made a comment about my teeth or said, 'How can you be an actor?' It really affected how I saw myself."

Shefali FernandesUpdated: Monday, July 21, 2025, 07:12 PM IST
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Actress Kalki Koechlin made her Bollywood debut in the 2009 film Dev D, starring Abhay Deol and Mahie Gill, and directed by her ex-husband Anurag Kashyap. The 41-year-old recalled feeling 'ugly' after being scrutinised for her appearance, even though she knew she wasn’t.

'I Felt Ugly': Kalki Koechlin

She told Zoom, "Looking back now, I think, ‘I was in my prime, I looked so good—why didn’t I enjoy it?’ There were times when I’d look at myself and feel so ugly, just because someone had made a comment about my teeth or said something like, ‘How can you be an actor?’ I remember how it was really affecting the way I looked at myself."

Kalki added, "I don’t think any amount of exposure, confidence, or sexual liberation can protect you from the fact that people have a protected identity and can say anything they want on social media."

Kalki Koechlin's Work Front

Kalki was last seen in the 2023 Netflix film Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, where she played the role of Siddhant Chaturvedi's girlfriend, Simran Kohli.

The film also starred Ananya Panday and Gourav Adarsh in the lead.

Earlier this year, Kalki starred in Tamil romantic action thriller film Nesippaya, alongside Akash Murali, Aditi Shankar, R. Sarathkumar, Prabhu and Khushbu.

Next, she will be seen in the English-language film Emma and Angel.

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