You can't survive on theatre alone: Kalki

New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) Theatre is her first love, but petite actress Kalki Koechlin of "Dev D" fame says she chose to join Bollywood because she realised one can't survive on theatre alone.

"Theatre is my passion but unfortunately in this world you can't survive doing only theatre. Theatre is an actor's medium and it sharpens your acting skills, but it doesn't give you enough money to survive," Kalki told IANS.

"Acting is like yoga for me. It makes me happy; so now I am trying to create a balance between theatre and Bollywood," she added.

She was in the capital to attend designer duo Anjalee and Arjun Kapoor's bash to celebrate the opening of their stores in New York and Hong Kong.

Earlier the 26-year-old was in the capital to stage the play "The Skeleton Woman", which she had scripted herself. It's based on a Inuit folk tale about a woman and her husband, "Women, Who run with the Wolves" by Clarissa Pinkola Estes.

"I have been working on this play ever since 'Dev D' got over. I knew that I immediately didn't want to act in another movie; hence I started working on the play," She said.

Kalki, who played Chanda in "Dev D" - director Anurag Kashyap's contemporary interpretation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's classic "Devdas"- is still trying to strike a balance between her personal and professional life.

"It's an art to maintain a balance between your professional and personal life because media hounds you 24x7. You can't completely ignore them because you need good publicity to get good work. But sometimes it becomes erratic when they are after your private life," she said.

The actress has been open about her live-in relationship with Kashyap and, according to her, what brings them together is their passion for work.

"We are two different individuals but what brings us together is our passion for work. We are very objective when it comes to work. Working with him is a delight because our understanding level is perfect," she said.

The actress will now be seen in Kashyap's "Happy Ending" and says she is not tempted by the various offers she is getting after "Dev D".

"I would rather wait for doing something interesting, then get myself caught in the stereotypical roles. Unfortunately there are so many stories to tell through this medium but nothing interesting is coming my way," she said.

Kalki admits that life has changed a lot after the success of her debut movie.

"Now I can't roam around freely and buy Kolhapuri chappals, barge in Karim's and eat there and, most importantly, now I can't afford to wear dirty clothes on a lazy day.

"There are days when you don't want to wear make-up and dress up, you just want to be in your skin and roam around without caring about others. After you become a celebrity, you miss out on these simple things," she said. Click the Movie button below for more info:
Dev D