MUMBAI: For her upcoming film ‘Shanghai’, actress Kalki Koechlin had to go through quite a transformation.

The brief given by her director, Dibakar Banerjee, was quite simple – ‘Look ugly’. However, it was nothing short of a nightmare to actually realise the filmmaker’s vision. "Dibakar wanted me to look ugly and vulnerable. The first thing that he did was chop my hair and make it really short. Then he gave me these clothes that were really grungy with jagged T-shirts and all. I wasn’t allowed to look very comfortable or feminine. The idea was to bring on certain vulnerability and awkwardness to my character. There is not an ounce of glamour that I bring in Shanghai. Dibakar said that I had to be ugly, but adorable. Now that was a strange mix I had to bring on screen," said Kalki to the media.

The director has made his other cast members go through transformations too. While Emraan Hashmi is now sporting a paunch and blackened teeth, Abhay Deol who is generally a cool person, has turned himself into a stoic middle aged suited-booted character.

‘Shanghai’ is to released on 8th June, this year.