Koechlin was cast opposite Emraan Hashmi and Abhay Deol ( her third collaboration with Deol ) for Dibakar Banerjee 's political-thriller '' Shanghai '' . The film , which was based on the Greek writer Vassilis Vassilikos 's 1967 novel '' Z '' ( made into a movie of the same name ) , premiered at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival . Koechlin found the role of a political activist , which she described as vulnerable and awkward to be challenging . She said that the character was , " someone who is not an accepted person ... an outsider " . '' Shanghai '' received positive reviews from critics , and was a surprise hit at the box-office grossing over worldwide . Koechlin garnered a mixed response for her performance in the film . While Russell Edwards noted the " biting edge " she brought to the role , Aniruddha Guha thought of her as the " weakest link " in the film
2012 Toronto Film Festival
2012 Toronto International Film Festival
Kalki Koechlin