Avani Modi, who makes her debut in Calendar Girls, was initially surprised when she learnt that she'd be playing a Pakistani girl who aspires to become a supermodel in Mumbai. But after director Madhur Bhandarkar convinced her, she took it up as a challenge. Interestingly, she is the only one of the five debutantes - Ruhi Singh (Miss Universal Peace and Humanity 2014), Akanksha Puri, Satarupa Pyne and Kyra Dutt being the other four ­ who wears everything from a burqa to a bikini in the film.

Avani, who also learnt how to wear a burqa and tie a hijab for her character Nazneen Khalid, says, “Wearing a bikini is no big deal. A lot of actresses wear a bikini just to show off. I am playing one of the Calendar girls and my character required me to wear it. It's not shown in a sleazy way. Also, I feel that wearing bold outfits and doing intimate scenes have now become a part of our films.“